Mark Boucher scotches all rumours of dissent with the Mumbai Indians ranks

Mumbai Indians head coach Boucher puts to rest all conspiracy theories about dissent within the camp after Hardik Pandya's appointment as captain.

Mark Boucher, the Mumbai Indians head coach, has put to rest all the conspiracy theories about dissent within the Mumbai Indians camp after Hardik Pandya’s appointment as captain for the forthcoming IPL edition.

Addressing a media interaction during the IPL Player Auction, Boucher stressed that the coaching staff has had detailed conversations about the leadership transition from Rohit Sharma to Hardik, who was traded from Gujarat Titans ahead of the auction.

“We have had conversations with certain team members and the leadership within the group. I think it’s purely just a transition phase. It’s the game of cricket. Mumbai Indians moves on forward,” Boucher said.

“Rohit has been fantastic for us. He has been a stalwart for Mumbai Indians, he has done really well. This is just a decision that is made by us to move forward and get into a transition phase with the new captain and it’s, you know, take all the motions aside and all that type of stuff. That’s simply what it is all about.”

Ever since Hardik was formally announced as the captain last week, social media has been abuzz with theories related to dissent within senior MI players. When asked specifically about whether there was any dissent about it, Boucher said the transition has been handled in “the best way possible”.

“Can I say anything about it? I am not too sure. I mean, I have heard rumours via social media, all that type of stuff, but I’m not really into social media stuff,” Boucher said.

“As far as I can tell, it was handled by us in the best way possible. We understand the emotions around everything, but this is purely a transitional phase for Mumbai Indians. And decisions were made by us to move forward and that’s where we are at the moment.”