Rift between Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma? Mumbai Indians star opens up on team environment

Mumbai Indians have made a disastrous start in IPL 2024 under the captaincy of their new captain Hardik Pandya. While the franchise sacked Rohit Sharma and appointed the allrounder as his replacement, their fortunes are showing very little signs of improving as of now.

Mumbai Indians are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table and are the only side who are yet to get off the mark in IPL 2024. They have lost their first three games so far and need an extraordinary turnaround to progress far in the tournament.

They began their season with a six-run loss against Gujarat Titans while chasing 168. In the second game, Sunrisers Hyderabad smashed Mumbai Indians for a record total of 277/3 and went on to win the game by 31 runs. In their third game, Mumbai Indians could only score 125/9 and lost the game by six wickets.

Apart from the defeats, Mumbai Indians are also grabbing the spotlight for the much-talked-about unrest in their dressing room. As per reports, all is not well inside the Mumbai dressing room after Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain. The reports have stated that the dressing room is divided into two parts with one supporting the current captain and the other backing the former captain.

No rift between Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma:

Amidst the talk of the rift inside the dressing room, Mumbai Indians bowler Akash Madhwal has insisted the team environment is excellent and Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma have been supportive. Speaking to the media after the defeat against Rajasthan Royals, Madhwal said:

“The team environment is excellent. Both (Rohit and Hardik) are supportive, and I spoke to Hardik and Rohit in the practice match. (Jasprit) Bumrah bhai was also there. We should do better in the coming games.”

Madhwal also spoke about not getting a place in the playing eleven for the first two games. The right-arm pacer made his IPL debut last season and made a big impression. He picked up 14 wickets in eight games including a stunning haul of 5 for 5 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the eliminator match.

However, the Mumbai Indians team management decided against playing him in the first two games before recalling him for the third game. Madhwal made an instant impact and picked up three wickets for just 20 runs in his four overs.

“The combinations for the first two games were good in their own right, as world-class bowlers constantly compete for a place in the team,” said Madhwal.