MI faced a huge backlash from their fans after announcing Hardik Pandya as the new captain for the IPL 2024 season, ending Rohit Sharma’s 10-year leadership. Some fans expressed their disappointment on social media, while others went as far as burning Mumbai Indians jerseys and caps, which went viral online. MI also received a significant blow on social media within the first hour of the captaincy announcement.
Mumbai Indians is one of the most popular franchises on all social media platforms, closely trailing behind Chennai Super Kings. Prior to the major announcement on Friday, MI had a total of 8.6 million followers on X. However, within just one hour, their follower count decreased to 8.2 million as the five-time champions lost four lakh followers. Additionally, it has been observed that Mumbai Indians experienced a decline of nearly five lakh followers on Instagram since Friday evening, resulting in their current follower count standing at 12.7 million.