Mumbai Indians had lost five successive matches under Rohit Sharma's captaincy too: Virender Sehwag

Mumbai Indians have been a serious topic of discussion so far in the Indian Premier League 2024. Their trade of Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans was well-received by the fans. But when Rohit Sharma was removed as the captain against fresh face Pandya, fans' excitement turned into rage. There was a huge uproar amongst the supporters, and what traversed next was worth forgetting. The newly-appointed skipper has been subjected to intense trolls on and off the field by MI admirers.

Things were catapulted when MI lost their initial three games in IPL 2024 and are at the rock bottom of the points table. Many have credited the team's dismal performance to the newly appointed captain. Former India cricketer, Virender Sehwag has opined on the treatment the India all-rounder has been receiving. He reminisced the season of MI where they had lost the initial five matches on trot. Interestingly Sharma was leading the side then.

"This statement about (Pandya), I think this has been made in haste. This team had lost five successive matches under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, too; 5-0. Then, they were champions (lost in the Playoffs). So, they will be patient with Hardik, too. These are stats. They have been 0-3 down, too. But if this extends beyond that too, it might test the team management's patience," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

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"Two-three franchises have done that. Punjab did that, Chennai did that when they gave the captaincy to Jadeja, and then Dhoni took over the captaincy again. But it happened midway through the season. I don't think MI will think about the captaincy switch right now. You can't change a captain after three games; that doesn't send the right message to the team, too. But after seven games, when the season is right in the middle, they can take a call based on how the performance has been," the former Delhi Capitals' skipper added.

I've certainly never heard them boo one of their own: Michael Vaughan

There are rumours doing rounds in the MI corridors that the India captain might take back the captaincy reigns from Hardik. The same has been catalysed over social media by the fans and supporters of the franchise. However, former England cricketer Michael Vaughan has expressed astonishment over Pandya getting booed and talks about leadership changes.

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"The big debate is whether Rohit Sharma will end up back as captain. That has caused a lot of drama here in India. The booing... I have to say, the Indian crowd just loves cricket. I have never heard them boo. I've certainly never heard them boo one of their own. I get the booing when he played at (Ahmedabad) against the Gujarat Titans. He's left them and joined Mumbai. He took them to a title. So I get that in a pantomime kind of way," said Vaughan.