Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani knew what he had to say when a fan wanted Rohit Sharma back as team captain.
The IPL auctions are all about new players getting picked to represent a particular franchise, and yesterday’s event was no different. A total of 72 players found takers, with all 10 teams splurging a jaw-dropping ₹230.45 crore. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins earned a combined sum of over ₹45 crore while several uncapped Indians made big splashes. Amid this madness, as auctioneer Mallika Sagar called out the players that were up for grabs, Rohit Sharma’s name came up too, but it wasn’t for bidding.
During one of the commercial breaks, apparently someone from the crowd wanted to give a message to Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani, seated on his auction table. In a fan video posted by MI on their X handle, the fan shouted: ‘Rohit Sharma ko wapas lao‘ (Bring Rohit back as captain), to which Anant said: ‘Chinta mat karo. Woh batting karega‘ (Don’t worry, he will bat).
Obviously, the reaction of the fan stems from MI’s decision to replace Rohit with Hardik Pandya as captain. Ever since the announcement was made last Friday, the MI fan community has been in an absolute meltdown, most ridiculing Hardik’s appointment as captain. The star India all-rounder returned to the franchise after spending two seasons with Gujarat Titans – leading them to consecutive finals, including a title winning debut campaign – on a cash-only trade, and as per reports, the deal came through only once Hardik insisted on captaincy and MI agreed.
MI, one of the two most successful franchises in IPL history along with Chennai Super Kings with five championships, last won the title back in 2020. And given that a team which used to land the trophy every alternate year since 2013, has gone without one across three seasons is believed to have led to the change in guard. IPL 2022 last year was MI’s worst season of all time as they finished bottom of the pile with just four wins from 14 matches, with Rohit enduring an all-time low, scoring 268 runs – only the second time he went below 300 in his IPL career.
How MI fared at IPL 2024 auction
As for the auction, MI secured the smartest buys among all 10 franchises. They spent a major chunk of their money on bowlers, getting hold of the likes of South Africa pacer Gerald Coetzee and Sri Lanka quick Dilshan Madushanka, along with Nuwan Thushara, whose action resembles that of their bowling coach and legend Lasith Malinga.
Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi was acquired by for ₹1.5 crore and the franchise also signed Shreyas Gopal ( ₹20 lakh), Anshul Kamboj ( ₹20 lakh), Shivalik Sharma ( ₹20 lakh) and Naman Dhir ( ₹20 lakh).
