'Hardik left, but SKY-Bumrah remained loyal to MI', De Villiers' statement regarding Mumbai Indians

MI has lost millions of followers on its social networking accounts. However, former South African captain AB de Villiers is surprised to see the negative reaction of Mumbai Indians fans. De Villiers follows Mumbai Indians closely.

He said- The reaction of the fans was negative. Hardik is Mumbai's own, as he started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians. He played for them for years and delivered a top-class performance in his debut innings for this franchise. I know Surya and Bumrah remained loyal to the Mumbai franchise when Hardik decided to move on, but now he is back.

De Villiers said on his YouTube channel, 'I am surprised to see the negative reaction of the fans. I am reading that Mumbai Indians franchise is losing its fans and people are upset with Hardik being made the captain in place of Rohit. Hardik was with Gujarat Titans for two years. He led the team to victory in his first season as captain in 2022. At the same time, Gujarat team was the runner up in the 2023 IPL. Now Hardik will be seen captaining the 2024 IPL for the third consecutive year, but this time the team will be of Mumbai Indians.

De Villiers said, 'Fans should be happy that Hardik has returned with more experience. He deserves to be welcomed. I am sure if he lifts the trophy with Mumbai Indians as captain, the fans will have no problems again.

De Villiers said that some people took Rohit's removal from captaincy personally. He said- I think many people are happy with it and many people are worried about it. Some people took it personally. It is certain that Rohit will have to move forward at some point and make room for Hardik.

Supporting the change in captaincy, the former South African captain said, 'I don't think it is a bad move for Mumbai Indians. This is something new. Rohit has had great success over the years and has won a lot of trophies. It may be possible that there is a lot of pressure on him to captain India as well. Now perhaps the time has come for them to relax a bit and enjoy the game to their fullest. Now he may want to give pressure and responsibility to someone else.

De Villiers said, 'This could be the reason. I don't think there will be anything else other than this. I don't think Hardik would have come with this mentality saying that if I am not the captain then I will not play. I really think Rohit has taken this decision to give himself some rest and enjoy his batting.

Hardik made his IPL debut in 2015 under the captaincy of Rohit. Then he was bought by MI for Rs 10 lakh. Hardik played an important role in Mumbai's victory in the 2015 IPL and after that he was selected in the Indian team. Now in 2023 i.e. after eight years, he has become the captain of Mumbai. At the same time, the 10-year tenure of Rohit, who was appointed captain of Mumbai in 2013, ended. Now he will be seen playing only as a batsman.