Mumbai Indians lose 400k followers on Instagram after Hardik Pandya replaces Rohit Sharma as captain

Mumbai Indians announced Hardik Pandya as their next captain on Friday and lost around 400,000 followers on Instagram after the crucial announcement. The announcement on December 15 marked a transition from the leadership of Rohit Sharma, who led the Mumbai-based franchise to five IPL titles. As per the website InsTrack, MI had 1,32,56,410 followers on Instagram on 14 December, which has now gone down to 1,28,66,885 on 16 December, a decrease of 3,89,525 followers. Rohit Sharma was at the helm for the Mumbai Indians since 2013 and led the side to five titles - a feat later equalled by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the IPL 2023 season. Rohit has not been part of the Indian T20I side since the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final loss and will now feature for the Mumbai Indians only in the capacity of a player. “It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed with exceptional leadership right from Sachin to Harbhajan and Ricky to Rohit, who while contributing to the immediate success have always had an eye on strengthening the team for the future,” Mahela Jayawardene, Global Head of Performance, Mumbai Indians said. It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season, the former Sri Lankan captain added. Rohit has been on a break after India’s loss in the World Cup 2023 final. The right-handed batsman will return to lead India in the two-match Test series against South Africa commencing on December 26. Having debuted in the IPL in 2013 for the Mumbai Indians, Hardik was part of 92 matches for the side before moving to the Gujarat Titans. In the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he assumed the role of captain for the Titans, guiding the franchise to the final on both occasions. Under his captaincy, Gujarat clinched the title in their maiden appearance. Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians in 163 IPL and Champions League T20 matches, securing victories in 91, drawing four, and experiencing 68 defeats. Under his captaincy, Mumbai Indians reached the IPL final five times, emerging victorious on each occasion in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.