Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have made a poor start to the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season after losing their first two matches of the campaign. Under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, who replaced Rohit Sharma at the helm, MI found it difficult to click together as a unit. As Mumbai await their first win of the campaign under Hardik’s leadership, fans continue to express their frustration over the removal of Rohit as skipper. As a result, “Ultimate GOAT Rohit Sharma” became one of the top trends on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.
Fans have been relentless in expressing their frustration over MI deciding to replace captain Rohit with Hardik. In fact, the fan wars have become so intense that India and Rajasthan Royals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also had to speak out on the issue and urged those criticizing Hardik to stop.
But social media trends don’t suggest fans are listening. Here are some examples:
can i get 100 rts for this beautiful redemption of assassin rohit sharma?
ULTIMATE GOAT ROHIT SHARMA pic.twitter.com/68DCNhBQ5y
— VIVEK ( ) (@UniquePullShot) March 30, 2024
Mi will never be the same again!
ULTIMATE GOAT ROHIT SHARMA pic.twitter.com/q9OtWnpHQe
— Prem 45 (@PremRohitian45) March 30, 2024
My captain forever @ImRo45
ULTIMATE GOAT ROHIT SHARMApic.twitter.com/vmpXMYGPsm
— Sivaraj (@Sivaraj_offl) March 30, 2024
Scenes from Mumbai are going viral on the internet. Fans gathered to see their idol Rohit Sharma at a restaurant.
He really runs the streets.ULTIMATE GOAT ROHIT SHARMA
— (@retiredMIfans) March 30, 2024
From the beginning he was fearless
ULTIMATE GOAT ROHIT SHARMA pic.twitter.com/xM80UGHMi3
— VishalYadav (@Vishalydv0002) March 31, 2024
Ashiwn has expressed his support for Hardik in a video on YouTube and asked Rohit fans to stop abusing the MI skipper.
“Fan wars should never be this ugly. You have to remember which country these players represent – our country. So, what justifies booing a cricketer? “I don’t understand. If you don’t like a player and abuse a player, why should a team come out and clarify,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel while answering a question from one of the viewers.
Pandya had to endure a hostile round of booing during the season opener against his former side Gujarat Titans as the fans vented their sense of betrayal.
The 30-year-old was also treated in a similar manner by fans in Hyderabad, a neutral venue, in the match against the Sunrisers.
“This is cricket, and there is a predominant film culture. I know there are things like marketing, positioning and branding. I agree with all that. But I don’t believe in this, but it’s not wrong to focus on this either. to give.’ said Aswin.
The veteran off-spinner said neither the player nor the Mumbai team management were owed an explanation on the issue but urged the fans to be more rational in their behavior.
“Neither has a role to play. Neither the franchise nor the player has a role to play in this. I think the responsibility and responsibility lies with the fans,” he said.
Ashwin, who recently completed double 100 Tests and 500 wickets, said toxicity has increased among Indian fans compared to fans from some other cricketing countries.
“Have you seen this happening in another country? Have you seen fans of Joe Root and Zak Crawley fighting? Have you seen fans of Joe Root and Jos Buttler fighting? “Have you seen fans of Steve Smith and Pat Cummins fighting in Australia, Ashwin pointed out.
The man from Chennai also brought up examples from the past when legends like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly played under MS Dhoni, then a much younger cricketer, and put their egos aside.
“Sourav Ganguly played under Sachin Tendulkar and vice versa. These two have both played under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy. These three have played under Anil Kumble and all of them have played under Dhoni.
“When they were under Dhoni, these players were cricket jambhavans (veterans). Dhoni also played under Virat (Kohli),” he said.
With PTI inputs
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