Rohit Sharma not picked in Mumbai Indians playing XI for IPL 2024 tie vs KKR hours after internet-breaking video

Mumbai Indians star Rohit Sharma on Saturday was not picked in the starting XI for the match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the ongoing 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It came hours after a video uploaded, and later deleted, by KKR went viral on social media where Rohit supposedly indicated that he isn't quite happy with the things going on in the Mumbai Indians camp.

Speaking to KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on the sidelines of MI's preparation for the match against Kolkata on Friday, Rohit, in the viral video, can be heard saying: “Ek ek cheez change ho raha hai... . Woh unke upar hai, main ye sab pe dhyaan nahi data... (Everything is changing one by one. It depends on them, I don't care about that)."

The former Mumbai Indians skipper, who was removed from the leadership role last December with Hardik Pandya replacing him, added, “Jo bhi hai woh mera ghar hai bhai, woh temple jo hai na maine banwaya hai. (Whatever it is, it's my home. It's a temple that I've built)."

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Although KKR instantly deleted the video which sparked a furore on social media, copies of the clip were posted from various social media handles.

Nearly 24 hours later, Rohit was not picked in the starting XI for the match against KKR after Mumbai captain Hardik opted to bowl first following a rain delay in Kolkata.

Rohit was however named in the Impact Player list, which leaves a possibility of MI including him in the second innings of the match.

This is the second time this season, Rohit was benched for an innings in IPL 2024. The previous instance was also against Kolkata Knight Riders in the home game last Friday as Rohit had seemingly injured his back while practising.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Anshul Kamboj, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah, Nuwan Thushara

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy