Mumbai: Ever since the Mumbai Indians franchise brought back Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans and named him skipper, the flamboyant allrounder has faced the wrath of fans for no fault of his.
Not that they hated Pandya the cricketer, but Mumbai Indians fans didn’t like the idea of him leading the side. The fans have just not been able to accept the fact that Rohit Sharma, who led Mumbai to five IPL titles, was unceremoniously removed from captaincy and replaced by Pandya.
After venting out their feelings on social media, fans have been expressing their displeasure at IPL venues also.
Mumbai Indians played their first two games of IPL 2024 on the road, but even at Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, the crowd booed Pandya when he stepped out to the ground.
On Monday, as Mumbai played their first match of the season at home, the crowd at Wankhede Stadium went after Pandya again.
The fans continued to chant ‘Rohit, Rohit’ and booed Pandya not only when he entered the field but again when he went for the toss.
It was so obvious that former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar – who was conducting the toss for the broadcasters – had to intervene.
“We have got the two captains here… Hardik Pandya of Mumbai Indians… big round of applause ladies and gentlemen… behave,” Manjrekar said sternly as the boos and reverberated around the stadium.
Video of Manjrekar’s ‘reprimand’ went viral on X:
feel for those 50 kohli and dhoni fans who were trending we support hardik pandya 🤣
here is the constant Rohit Rohit chant and boo at hardik pandya 🔥pic.twitter.com/yZX6OBZbRo
— 𝗔𝘆𝘂𝘀𝗵 🇮🇳 (@RofiedAyush) April 1, 2024
This boo for Hardik Pandya is louder than Hyderabad and Ahmedabad pic.twitter.com/BYvA0GhMHx
— Ansh Shah (@asmemesss) April 1, 2024
Mumbai Indians, who lost both their matches, got off to a rocky start against Rajasthan Royals as fans’ favourite Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a first-ball duck.
Pandya went in to bat at 20/4 and managed to win over some of the fans with an array of exciting strokes. He struck 6 fours in a 21-ball 34 to steady the Mumbai innings and calm down the crowd somewhat.
The only way he can silence the angry fans is to keep performing consistently.
