T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma accused of dividing Mumbai Indians by KKR in a derogatory social media post

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) trolled Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA). Kolkata Knight Riders shared a social media post featuring Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Hardik Pandya in India jerseys.

Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders are two of the successful teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Knight Riders secured their third title in this year's tournament. In contrast, the Mumbai Indians had a disappointing performance. MI became the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention.

There were many reasons for the Hardik Pandya-led team's disappointing performances in the IPL 2024 season. Reports suggested that Rohit Sharma was unhappy with Hardik Pandya being appointed captain of the five-time IPL champions. The team was divided into two groups in the recent season.

Kolkata Knight Riders Trolls Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians

Kolkata Knight Riders shared pictures of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav in India's jerseys. The Kolkata-based team captioned the post 'United in Blue for India.' The post quickly gained attention from fans on social media due to internal rifts among the MI players.

The MI management replaced Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as the team's captain before the start of the IPL 2024. Pandya was traded from the Gujarat Titans (GT) in an all-cash deal. The management decision upset many devoted MI fans, who expressed their dissatisfaction on social media platforms.

Pandya received boos from fans earlier in the tournament across venues, including their home ground, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Mumbai-based team managed to secure four wins out of 14 matches. Hardik struggled both with bat and ball, while Rohit started promisingly but ended in disappointment.

They Lack In That Final Plan - Brian Lara

Speaking on Star Sports, former West Indies captain Brian Lara believes that Team India's lack of a plan for ICC events has been the reason behind their failure to clinch major trophies in recent years. Lara hoped that the Indian team would work towards implementing a plan to secure victory in the World Cup.

"The Indian team, just looking from the outside, in previous cups, be it in T20s, be it in 50 overs, I just feel that they lack in that final plan in terms of how they are going to go about it. It doesn’t matter how many superstars you have, how are you going to go about in this World Cup? What plans are you going to have in place? How are you going to structure your innings?..." Lara said.

"I believe, hopefully, Rahul Dravid can get his players working towards a certain plan to win the Cup," the former player added.

Team India hasn't won an ICC tournament since 2013. The Men in Blue will be hoping to end their 17-year drought and win their second T20 World Cup. The Rohit Sharma-led team will begin their campaign on June 5 against Ireland, followed by a highly anticipated match against Pakistan on June 9.

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