'RIP Mumbai Indians' trends on X as franchise continues to receive backlash after captaincy change

Mumbai Indians dropped a bombshell last month as they traded in their former player Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans. While some fans were delighted with the homecoming of the Baroda all-rounder, others were perplexed as to why he chose to leave Gujarat, a team that saw tremendous success under his leadership.

A major section of cricket enthusiasts couldn't understand the reasoning behind him choosing to let go of captaincy for Gujarat and play under Rohit's leadership at Mumbai. However, the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions had a huge surprise up their sleeves as they announced Hardik as their new captain on Friday, December 15.

Rohit led Mumbai to five titles but he will now have to play under Hardik in the 2024 edition of the tournament. The star all-rounder made his IPL debut for Mumbai in 2015 and played under Rohit's leadership for the franchise till 2021. After being roped in by the Titans, Hardik was announced as the leader, and under him, the team won the tournament in 2022, in their first appearance. This year, the 30-year-old led Gujarat to the finals, where they lost to MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad.

A section of cricket fans have been rubbed the wrong way after Rohit's unceremonious sacking as they felt that the franchise has disrespected Rohit's undeniable contribution to their success. Mumbai has lost over 4 lakh followers on their official Instagram and 'X' (formerly known as Twitter) handles. Fans have also burned and torn jerseys of the team, showing their disapproval.

Now, the fans have started trending "RIP MUMBAI INDIANS" on 'X' to vent their frustration. Things are certainly not rosy in the Mumbai camp as they might not have expected heat as severe as this from the fans.

Here's a look at some of the tweets from the fans: