Mumbai Indian Follower: Mumbai Indians (five-time IPL champions) have witnessed their social media following drop dramatically following Rohit’s unexpected dismissal as captain and Hardik Pandya’s appointment as new captain, which upset many fans, resulting in over 1M+ Instagram users leaving.

Fans took to social media platforms such as Twitter to voice their displeasure with Rohit’s sudden direction change.

Rohit Sharma led the Mumbai Indians to five Indian Premier League wins under his captaincy from 2013-2023, as he was known as its face and leader.

Rohit earned an impressive 56.33 per cent victory rate while at the helm. When his decision to be replaced came, it caused ripple effects throughout both teams as fans debated why or how it had occurred and was met with various reactions from fans alike.

Mumbai Indians’ decision to appoint Hardik Pandya as captain of their IPL season 2024 team and end Rohit Sharma’s ten-year-year reign has disappointed and disillusioned fans.

Mumbai Indians fans went viral when a few fans burned their jerseys and caps only four days before their mini auction held in Dubai, leading them to set fires across their jerseys and hats in an act that quickly went viral online.

Know More: WHY MUMBAI INDIANS FANS ARE BURNING MI CAPS AND JERSEY?

Furthermore, MI’s social media team took an enormous hit after their captain announcement.

Mumbai Indians rank second only to Chennai Super Kings regarding social media followership. MI had nearly 13.2 million followers before the big reveal on Friday night; afterwards, they lost almost One million followers and are currently sitting at 13.2 million.

Rohit Singh led Mumbai Indians from 2013 until midseason. Ricky Ponting left due to declining batting statistics after MI won its maiden IPL season by defeating Chennai and winning both Champions League T20s – now defunct.

Additionally, Mumbai won five times: 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020 under Rohit’s captaincy, winning 87 matches out of 158 alone (Dhoni was second with 82 victories).

“Building our legacy and staying true to MI philosophy requires being future-ready. Mumbai Indians have always been blessed by exceptional leaders – Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Pathak, Ricky Ponting and Rohit are just a few examples – who have helped drive immediate success while looking toward the long-term vision for the success of their teams.

Hardik Pandya will follow this same approach,” according to Mahela Jayawardene, Global Head of Performance for Mumbai Indians.

Hardik made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians as an uncapped Indian player in 2015. However, after signing with Gujarat Titans as captain a year later and leading them to win their inaugural title, he was let go from MI, ultimately finishing as runners-up in 2023.

Mahela Jayawardene, Mumbai Indians’ global head of performance, offered their gratitude to Sharma’s decade-long leadership for helping make Mumbai Indians one of the most successful teams ever seen in IPL history. Hardik Pandya will assume his new duties as captain soon and plans on making them future-ready.

The social media scandal had far-reaching repercussions for IPL rankings as well. Chennai Super Kings, archrival of Mumbai Indians, had 13 million followers on Instagram, while CSK had 13 million. This scandal spread quickly throughout social media and beyond it into IPL rankings.

This change reflected the broader impact of Sharma’s departure on the league dynamics. Mumbai Indians’ decision to replace Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as captain has significantly affected their team rankings and social media followership. This change impacted not only team rankings but also saw an alarming drop-off.

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