Five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) title-holders Mumbai Indians’ ploy of staying ‘future-ready’ — first by parachuting Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans and then dethroning Rohit Sharma to elevate the Baroda all-rounder to the captain’s role doesn’t seem to have gone down well with many aspirants within the franchise.

Rohit, who took over the reins of the side midway into the 2013 season, had a decade-long stint at the helm, and was instrumental in guiding the Mumbai Indians to all five IPL titles. In the process, he also became the joint-most successful IPL captains along with the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

According to sources, Pandya had agreed to make the switch to Mumbai Indians only if he was given the leadership role, and around the start of the World Cup, members of the franchise sat down with Rohit for a series of meetings, during which he was made to understand the need for a change in guard, and eventually convinced him to play under Hardik for the upcoming season.

Subsequently in a dramatic turn of events, the Mumbai Indians announced the trading of Pandya, even after the Titans had initially named him in their list of retained players before the deadline for player trading window closed ahead of the upcoming IPL 2024 auction on December 19.

Left with a purse of Rs 5.5 crore from the previous auction, Mumbai Indians traded out Australia’s Cameron Green to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to accommodate the 30-year-old India all-rounder.

Pandya, who was released by the MI a couple of seasons back, led the Gujarat Titans to the title in their first-ever IPL season in 2022. Defending the title this year, Pandya and Co made it to the final again but lost against the Chennai Super Kings.

While Mumbai Indians’ decision to look beyond Rohit wasn’t a surprise, it was the promotion of Pandya, who was traded back last month, hours after the Titans retained him, that has met the ire of fans.

“It is part of legacy building and staying true to the MI philosophy of being future-ready. It is in keeping with this philosophy that Hardik Pandya will assume captaincy of Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2024 season,” Mahela Jayawardene, MI’s global head of performance, said late Friday.

However, going by social media reactions from a couple of senior members of the franchise, it seems that the decision hasn’t gone down well. While pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah posted a cryptic message when the all-rounder was traded by the franchise, Suryakumar Yadav shared an emoji of “broken heart” on his social media after Friday’s announcement.

Yadav, who led India to a series win in the five-match T20I rubber against Australia at home, and recently drew the three-match series 1-1 against South Africa, was the vice-captain of the Mumbai Indians in the last IPL and had also led in the few games when Rohit played as an Impact Player.

Bumrah, who has been a part of the Mumbai Indians four title-winning campaigns since 2015, has been a part of the franchise all throughout his IPL career, and picked 145 wickets at an average of 23.30.

What seemed like a reaction to MI’s trading of Pandya, Bumrah’s post read, “Silence is sometimes the best answer.”

Bumrah had on many occasions shown interest in captaining India, and was given the opportunity to lead the side last year, when Rohit failed to recover in time from Covid-19 and was ruled out of the Edgbaston Test against England.

“If given an opportunity, it would be an honour. I don’t think any player would say no. There’s no bigger feeling than that,” Bumrah had said at a press conference when probed on his interest in captaining the national team.

“Big achievement, it’s a big honour. Playing a Test match was a dream for me and to get an opportunity like this is a big achievement — among the biggest achievements in my career. So, I am very happy that I have been given this opportunity,” Bumrah had said after standing in for Rohit in England.

Going by the posts, it could be assumed that there can’t be smoke without fire, and it will be interesting to see how Pandya ensures a friction-less transitioning on his ghar-wapsi.