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Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers revealed that he was surprised by the reaction to Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians’ captain. Pandya was named Mumbai’s skipper on Friday, December 15, and the announcement didn’t sit well with his fans and the franchise’s followers. Sharma led Mumbai to five IPL trophy victories within seven years and is now the joint-most successful captain as Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Earlier during the IPL 2024 retention and trading window, Pandya was traded from Gujarat Titans.
Fans were upset with the sudden changes in the captaincy and they protested against the news in their way. While some followers posted on social media, others burnt MI’s jerseys and caps. Not only this, but the franchise also saw a significant drop in the number of followers across all social media platforms. Former cricketer AB de Villiers reacted to the fans’ outrage and said that he feels the franchise has made the right choice while saying that the reaction was pretty negative.
Mr 360 spoke on his YouTube channel, "Some people will be happy about it, some people will be sad about it. I read a post where MI lost a million followers so it seems people have taken it personally that Hardik has replaced Rohit. However, I don't see it as a bad decision for MI. Rohit has been a fantastic captain for MI. But he is also the Indian captain and now is the time for him to just settle a bit and enjoy the game and give the pressure of taking the heat to someone else."
He went on to say, "I feel Rohit has made a conscious decision looking at the load and wanting to focus more on his batting skills. Hardik is the captain of the Mumbai Indians and that's the news." During his captaincy stint with Gujarat Titans, Pandya led the team to one IPL trophy and one final finish.
