The Rohit Sharma-Hardik Pandya saga at the Mumbai Indians (MI) has been going on for a while now. Pandya was appointed as the new skipper of MI, a decision that the franchise announced before the start of the 2024 IPL season.
This decision wasn’t received well by the fans and the hate that the former Gujarat Titans all-rounder has received all season long, especially in Mumbai has been immense. According to reports, former captain Rohit Sharam was also shocked by the news and was visibly upset about the decision.
In their latest game against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens, the team seemed to be divided in two groups with the Indian players in support of the former captain while the overseas player being loyal to the current one.
Rohit Sharma was also seen having a chat with KKR coaching staff, of which KKR released a video on their social media channels and later deleted it. In the video, Rohit was seen talking to Abhishek Nayar, stating that everything has changed and this possibly could be his last season with the franchise.
MI eventually went on to lose the game, picking up their ninth defeat in thirteen games this season. They are now set to take on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Wankhede stadium in their final IPL game of the season on 17th May.
READ MORE: KL Rahul to step down as LSG captain?
The possible effects of the feud on the Indian team
Four players from the MI team, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah will be part of the Indian team for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup that is to be hosted by the United States and the West Indies in June.
Rohit is the captain while Pandya has been appointed as the vice-captain of the squad that the BCCI released a couple of weeks ago.
It is widely believed that some of the selectors along with the skipper Rohit Sharma were against the decision of selecting Hardik Pandya in the squad, especially due to the poor form that he has displayed in the IPL but had to eventually pick the all-rounder due to external pressure and lack of replacement options for the experience that he brings to the team.
READ MORE: Hayden wants Kohli and Sharma's batting positions to be changed at T20 World Cup
Pandya’s form in the IPL this season has been abysmal, especially with the bat and although he has bowled well in recent games, the all-rounder has still conceded runs at an economy of over 10 throughout the season.
| Matches | Runs | Average | SR | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 200 | 18.18 | 144.93 | 46 |
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| Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy | Best Figures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 11 | 32.73 | 10.59 | 3/31 |
Indian Squad for the World Cup
The fifteen-man squad that travels to the USA and the West Indies is as follows:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
Apart from the fifteen, Shubhman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan have been announced as the reserves.
Check out all T20 World Cup squads here