Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh stated that while he is a die-hard Mumbai Indians fan, his wife Genelia D'Souza and sons Riaan and Rahyl are followers of other Indian Premier League (IPL) teams. He revealed that Genelia supports Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Speaking about his children's choice of IPL teams, Riteish mentioned that his elder son Riaan likes Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and his younger son Rahyl roots for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
The 45-year-old suggested that Riaan supports RCB because he is a big fan of star batter Virat Kohli. The popular actor made these comments on journalist Shubhankar Mishra's podcast. He said (from 32:22):
"In my home, I've forever been a supporter of Mumbai. Genelia's team is Chennai while the elder son supports Lucknow and the younger son is an RCB fan. I tell my younger son that RCB hasn't won yet. He tells me, 'No baba, it's Virat Kohli.'"
Apart from being a cricket fan, Riteish Deshmukh has also tried his hand at playing the sport, plying his trade for Mumbai Heroes in Celebrity Cricket League. He was the captain of the team in the 2024 edition of the tournament.
"Hardik Pandya is captain but raja is still Rohit Sharma" - Riteish Deshmukh on MI team
In the same aforementioned source, Riteish Deshmukh also spoke about the leadership change in MI's team, with Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma as the captain ahead of IPL 2024. He emphasized that Sharma continues to be the king of Mumbai, despite the the franchise appointing Hardik as the skipper.
Riteish said (from 36:32):
"If you were to ask me who the raja of Mumbai is, it would be Rohit Sharma. Hardik Pandya is captain but raja is still Rohit Sharma."
Rohit Sharma led Mumbai to five championship titles during his captaincy stint. The team management decided to hand the reins to Hardik Pandya for IPL 2024. Hardik received a hostile reception from the MI fans, with many supporters even booing him at the team's home venue, Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai managed to win just four games in the IPL 2024 season, finishing with the wooden spoon.
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