"Always By My Side": Amid Mumbai Indians Captaincy Row, Rohit Sharma's Post For Wife Ritika Sajdeh Has Fans Speculating

10.02.2024 - 10:29 sports.ndtv.com

The Mumbai Indians captaincy change ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is making news for all the wrong reasons. Ahead of the season, Rohit Sharma was replaced by Hardik Pandya as the captain of the five-time champions.

That Rohit Sharma was removed despite leading MI to the title five times has not gone down well with many. Recently, after MI coach Mark Boucher explained the logic behind this change in the leadership structure in a podcast, Rohit's wife Ritika took to social media to post a comment that triggered a fresh storm on the internet.

Boucher called the captaincy change decision purely a 'cricketing' one, as the franchise intended to lift some burden off Rohit's shoulders while giving Hardik the opportunity to continue growing as a captain, having already led the Gujarat Titans to two successive IPL finals. "I think it was purely a cricketing decision.

We saw the window period to get Hardik back as a player. For me it's a transition phase. A lot of people don't understand in India, people get quite emotional, but you know you take the emotions away from it.

cricket India Cricket Team Mumbai Indians Mark Boucher Rohit Sharma Hardik Pandya India

Led by Rohit Sharma, the Indian cricket team sealed the five-match Test series against England in Ranchi. The hosts won the game by five wickets to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series with a match to go. India lost the first game to England before making a brilliant comeback and winning hat-trick of matches. While many youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan have so far starred in the series, former Australia captain Ian Chappel made sure that the leadership skills of Rohit is also among the most talked topics. Chappel feels that Rohit's ability as a leader is "often overlooked".

"He Is The Next MS Dhoni": Ex-India Star's Massive Praise For Rohit Sharma

Former India cricketer Suresh Raina was all praise for Rohit Sharma for the player's leadership skills. Raina even compared the Indian team skipper to legendary captain MS Dhoni. The Indian cricket team, led by Rohit, recently sealed the five-match Test series against England with a game to go. India were trailing 0-1 before making a sensational comeback. Rohit and Co. won a hat-trick of matches against the Three Lions to keep India's home dominance intact. It was India's 17th consecutive Test series win on home soil.

"Apparent Who Has Hunger": Rohit Sharma's Blunt Answer On IPL vs Test Debate After England Win

The Indian cricket team sealed yet another Test series at home with a five-wicket win over England in Ranchi on Monday. The win was all the more special as the Rohit Sharma-led side was playing without some superstars. Virat Kohli is not playing in this series because of personal reasons while Jasprit Bumrah was rested from the fourth Test as part of workload management. Then, Mohammed Shami is out of the series due to injury. However, what made maximum noise in the buildup to the series was the absence of some youngsters. While they are on a 'break' due to various, it has raised a lot of eyebrows.

Watch: Rohit Sharma Slams Bat In Frustration As Yashasvi Jaiswal Gifts His Wicket To Joe Root

Rohit Sharma's disappointment was visible as Yashasvi Jaiswal ended up gifting his wicket to Joe Root on Day 4 of the fourth Test match between India and England in Ranchi on Monday. Jaiswal played brilliantly and was off to a great start when he miscued a simple shot off Root's bowling and James Anderson pulled off a good catch to end his stay at the crease after scoring 37 off 44 deliveries. Rohit was upset with how Jaiswal got dismissed despite getting a great start and the India skipper even slammed his bat on the pitch in frustration as the youngster made his way back to the dressing room.

"Not Pleasantries": Rohit Sharma, James Anderson 'Exchange Words' After Run Out Scare

Rohit Sharma and James Anderson 'exchanged words' following a run out scare on Day 4 of the fourth Test match between India and England in Ranchi on Monday. In the 13th over of India's second innings, Rohit edged a delivery from the England pacer and although there was a slight lack of communication between him and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the India skipper was able to complete the quick single. Following the incident, Anderson had a few words for him and Rohit responded in similar fashion. However, there was nothing more to the incident as play resumed with both players taking their respective positions.

Huge News For Mumbai Indians! Hardik Pandya Returns To Competitive Cricket Ahead Of IPL 2024

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya has made his much awaited return to the field of cricket as he leads the Reliance 1 side in the DY Patil T20 tournament. Pandya has not played international cricket for India since suffering an ankle injury during India's ICC Cricket World Cup group stage match against Bangladesh in October last year. He missed out on the series of five T20Is against Australia at home, the tour to South Africa as well, which consisted of three ODIs and T20Is each. Suryakumar Yadav, the number-one ranked T20I batter, stepped up as captain in Pandya's absence.