In a surprising turn of events on Friday, the Mumbai Indians cricket franchise announced the appointment of Hardik Pandya as their new captain, signaling a significant departure from the leadership of Rohit Sharma, who had steered the team to an impressive five IPL titles. The official announcement, made on December 15, was met with unexpected consequences as the team witnessed a notable decline in their Instagram followers.
According to data from InsTrack, Mumbai Indians had a robust following of 1,32,56,410 on Instagram as of December 14. However, just two days later, on December 16, the follower count plummeted to 12,541,062, reflecting a substantial loss of 7,15,348 followers in the aftermath of the captaincy transition. Which at the time of writing this post has further gone down to 12,459,611.
Rohit Sharma’s tenure as the skipper of Mumbai Indians spanned from 2013, and during his leadership, the team achieved a remarkable feat of clinching five IPL titles. This achievement, later equaled by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the IPL 2023 season, established Sharma as one of the most successful captains in the history of the tournament. Despite this, Rohit has not been a part of the Indian T20I side since the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final loss, and he will now contribute to the Mumbai Indians solely as a player.
Speaking about the decision, Mahela Jayawardene, the Global Head of Performance for Mumbai Indians, emphasized the team’s commitment to legacy building and staying true to their philosophy of being future-ready. He noted, “Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership, right from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who, while contributing to immediate success, have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future.”
This decision comes as Rohit Sharma, the former captain, takes a break following India’s loss in the World Cup 2023 final and prepares to lead India in the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa starting on December 26.
Read: Rohit Sharma Breaks Silence after World Cup 2023 Final Loss. Speaks from the Heart
Having debuted for the Mumbai Indians in 2013, Hardik Pandya played a pivotal role in 92 matches for the franchise before making a move to the Gujarat Titans. In the 2022 and 2023 IPL seasons, he assumed the captain’s responsibilities for the Titans, guiding them to the final on both occasions. Impressively, under his leadership, Gujarat Titans secured the title in their maiden appearance.
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy legacy
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy legacy with the Mumbai Indians is noteworthy, having led the team in 163 IPL and Champions League T20 matches. During his tenure, the team achieved victories in 91 matches, drew four, and experienced 68 defeats. Under Rohit’s captaincy, Mumbai Indians reached the IPL final five times, emerging victorious in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Additionally, Rohit led the team to a Champions League T20 title in 2013, although the league has been defunct since 2014.
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