Five-time IPL champions Mumbai have endured a disappointing campaign in IPL 2024. The team was embroiled in controversy months before the start of the season when Hardik Pandya was named the team's new captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. Upset by the captaincy change, fans targeted Pandya in the early matches of IPL 2024. Hardik was also booed at away venues and MI faced a backlash from fans who felt Rohit was unfairly sacked as captain.
MI failed to perform as a team and became the first franchise to be knocked out of the playoff race. But that is not the end of MI's story in IPL 2024. A video of Rohit Sharma and KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar went viral ahead of MI's match against Kolkata Knight Riders. In the clip, Sharma talks about his dissatisfaction with the way things have gone at Mumbai Indians in recent months.
Although Rohit did not specifically mention his franchise, it was clear from his comments that he was referring to MI:
“Ek ek cheez change ho raha hai, sab unke upar hai, me dhyaan nahi deta,”(Everything is changing one by one, it depends on them, I don’t care about that). Jo bhi hai, mera ghar hai. Maine temple banaya hai. (That’s my home, whatever it may be. It’s a temple that I’ve created).”
Supporters also noted that they overheard Rohit say ‘Bhai mera kya, mera toh last hai (Anyway, this is my last).’
Clear audio of Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Nayar's conversation, he didn't said that it's his last IPL.
— Aryan 🇮🇳 (@Iconic_Hitman) May 10, 2024
Please don't make any conclusions on half said words.🙏pic.twitter.com/9lbtZRQvQB
According to a source earlier this week, several senior MI players - including Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav - spoke at a team meeting about the reasons behind the franchise's dismal performance this season.
A select group of players were also invited for one-on-one meetings with the MI management to discuss the team's plan for the coming seasons.
MI will be playing for dignity when they take on high-flying Knight Riders in Kolkata, having already been eliminated from the play-off race. If KKR wins on Saturday, they will officially qualify for the next round.