Seniors Rohit, Suryakumar and Bumrah unhappy with Hardik Pandya's leadership for Mumbai Indians: Report

Mumbai Indians have had one of the most dismal performances in their IPL history in 2024 and it comes on the heels of a change of guard.

Hardik Pandya replaced decade-long skipper Rohit Sharma when he returned to the side in an all-cash trade from the Gujarat Titans. But instead of changing fortunes for the 5-time champions, their situation worsened. +

With rumours of rifts within the team, MI underperformed severely, languishing in the bottom half of the table for most of the season and consequently got eliminated from the play-offs race.

Now, an Indian Express report, dated May 9, 2024, suggests senior members of MI recently conveyed their contentions to key coaching members of the franchise.

As per the report, the players stated that there was a lack of buzz in the dressing room and the reason was Hardik’s leadership style.

Players and coaches reportedly met after a game and among Indian cricketers were national captain Rohit Sharma apart from Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav, and they put their thoughts across detailing reasons for the team's underperformance in 2024.

The report further stated that there have also been one-on-one interactions between some seniors and team management.

But an MI official quoted by Express brushed aside speculations about a leadership crisis and termed it a 'teething problem' for a team which witnessed change in leadership and that it happens in sports all the time.

This development, however, comes days after a remark by Hardik Pandya where he purportedly singled out Tilak Varma during a post-match comment after losing to Delhi Capitals.

Pandya was quoted as saying to broadcasters, 'When Axar Patel (DC bowler) was bowling to a left-hander (Tilak), the better option could have been to go after him. I think it was just a little game awareness that we missed out on. At the end of the day, that cost us the game.'

This blame-game by the captain reportedly did not go down well in the dressing room.

MI officials, the report said, will take stock of the season as usual and if necessary, will take a decision for the team's future.