Mumbai Indians’ star batsman Rohit Sharma was surprisingly omitted from the starting lineup for their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This decision came just hours after a video emerged on social media, which was later deleted by KKR, in which Sharma allegedly expressed discontent with the current state of affairs within the Mumbai Indians camp.
In the viral video, Sharma was overheard saying, “Everything is changing one by one. It depends on them, I don’t care about that.” These comments were made to KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on the sidelines of MI’s practice session on Friday.
Sharma, who was relieved of his captaincy duties in December last year with Hardik Pandya taking over the reins, further added, “Whatever it is, it’s my home. It’s a temple that I’ve built.”
Despite the video being promptly taken down by KKR, copies of the clip were swiftly disseminated across various social media platforms, sparking widespread speculation.
Approximately 24 hours later, Sharma was not included in the starting XI for the match against KKR after Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya chose to bowl first following a rain delay in Kolkata. However, Sharma was named as an Impact Player, leaving open the possibility of him being brought into the match during the second innings.
This is the second time this season that Rohit Sharma has been benched for an innings in IPL 2024. The previous instance also occurred against Kolkata Knight Riders in their home game last Friday, where Sharma reportedly suffered a back injury during practice.
The Mumbai Indians’ playing XI for the match against KKR consisted of Ishan Kishan(w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Anshul Kamboj, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah, and Nuwan Thushara.
Meanwhile, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ playing XI comprised Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakaravarthy.
