IPL 2024: Akash Ambani's fiery response to fan shouting 'Rohit Sharma ko wapas lao' steals the show

The main focus of the IPL auctions is on selecting new players to represent a specific franchise, and yesterday's event was no exception. Ten teams spent an astounding ₹230.45 crore, with a total of 72 players being selected. A few of uncapped Indian players made significant splashes, but Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins took home a combined sum of nearly ₹45 crore. As the players were called out for bidding by auctioneer Mallika Sagar amid all of this chaos, Rohit Sharma's name also appeared, but it was not up for grabs.

3 things you need to know: 

• MI named Hardik Pandya as the new captain
• Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma MI has won 5 IPL Titles
• Akash Ambani responds to a fan 

Also Read: Watch- Complete chaos as PBKS purchase a player mistakenly at the IPL 2024 auction

Akash Ambani's response to a fan 

The fan's outrage is undoubtedly a result of MI's choice to name Hardik Pandya as the team's captain in lieu of Rohit. The MI fan base has been in complete disarray since the announcement last Friday, with the majority of them making mockery of Hardik's selection as captain. After two seasons with Gujarat Titans, where he led them to consecutive finals and a title-winning debut campaign in 2022 the star all-rounder from India returned to the team on a cash-only trade. However, according to reports, the transfer only went through after Hardik insisted on captaincy and MI consented.

It seemed like a member of the public wanted to address Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani, who was sat at his auction table, during one of the commercial breaks. The fan yelled in a video that MI uploaded on their X handle: 'Rohit Sharma ko wapas lao' (Bring Rohit back as captain), to which Anant said: 

'Chinta mat karo. Woh batting karega' (Don't worry, he will bat).

Also Read: Mitchell Starc gives his first reaction after fetching Rs 24.75 crore in IPL 2024 Auction

Players bought in by Mumbai Indians 

Among the ten franchises, MI made the smartest purchases at the auction. They invested a significant portion of their funds on bowlers, signing players like Dilshan Madushanka of Sri Lanka and Gerald Coetzee of South Africa, as well as Nuwan Thushara, whose action is modeled after that of their legendary bowling coach Lasith Malinga.

Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi was acquired for ₹1.5 crore. The franchise also signed Shreyas Gopal (₹20 lakh), Anshul Kamboj (₹20 lakh), Shivalik Sharma (₹20 lakh), and Naman Dhir (₹20 lakh).