'Always by my side' - Rohit Sharma uploads endearing post with wife Ritika amid Mumbai Indians saga

Mumbai Indians caused a major stir in Indian cricket after they traded in Hardik Pandya ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. The cricket fraternity had not been able to come to terms with such a massive piece of news but the five-time IPL-winning franchise decided to drop another bombshell when they announced the Baroda all-rounder as their captain, bringing an end to Rohit Sharma's illustrious 11-season tenure at the helm.

Since Rohit's unceremonious sacking, fans have been vocal about their disappointment. There have also been speculations suggesting a cold war between the legendary batter and the Mumbai-based franchise. Rohit's wife, Ritika Sajdeh, recently slammed a social media post where Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher explained the details behind the change in captaincy.

On Saturday, February 10, Rohit posted a heartwarming picture with his beloved wife on his official Instagram account.

“Always by my side," the current Indian captain wrote in the caption of the monochrome picture that he shared.

For the unversed, Boucher stated that Rohit's performance with the bat wasn't great in the last two seasons of the IPL. The former South African wicketkeeper-batter noted that Rohit is already captaining the national team across formats and said that Mumbai's decision to relieve him of his captaincy duties will bring out the best in him.

"It's just more of a cricketing decision that was made and I do think it is going to bring the best out of Rohit as a person as a player. Just let him go out and enjoy and score some good runs. He's been captaining for ages and he's done really well for Mumbai Indians," Boucher said on the Smash Sports Podcast.

“Now he also leads India as well. It is that he walks into a place and there's just cameras in it and he's so busy and he hasn't had probably the best couple of seasons of late with the bat but he's done well as a captain," he added.

To this, Ritika replied: "So many things wrong with this…”

Also Read: Dinesh Lad sir motivates us to play like Rohit Sharma, says Mumbai’s Aryan Sakpal

Can Rohit Sharma get among the runs in the third Test versus England?

The 36-year-old has blown hot and cold with the bat in recent times. After finishing as the second-highest run-getter in the ODI World Cup 2023, Rohit skipped the white-ball contests against Australia and South Africa. He returned to action for the two-match Test series against the Proteas but managed to score only 61 runs from four innings at an average of 20.33.

Rohit made a much-awaited comeback to T20I cricket during the three-match home series against Afghanistan. The elegant right-handed batter failed to get off the mark in the first couple of games but slammed a spectacular century in the final match.

In the ongoing five-match Test series between India and England, Rohit hasn't been able to stamp his authority as yet. In four innings, he has managed only 90 runs at an average of 22.50. However, he led the team commendably en route to an important win in the second Test after going down in the opening encounter. The series is intriguingly poised at 1-1 and Indian fans would want their skipper to showcase his renowned skillsets with the bat in the third Test, which begins on Thursday, February 15, in Rajkot.

Also Read: As a leader, it is crucial to instill confidence in players: Rohit Sharma