Hardik Pandya hasn’t received the expected welcome from the fans after being named as the new captain of the Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2024.
Ahead of the IPL 2024 season, Mumbai Indians traded Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans and named him as the captain of the team for the 2024 season. Though Mumbai Indians and Hardik Pandya received massive criticism from the IPL and Rohit Sharma fans, the franchise stood strong in their decision.
But Hardik was repeatedly booed by the fans wherever he played. Even in his home venue, Wankhede Stadium, Hardik faced the same. But in Mumbai’s last clash which was played against RCB, fans once again criticised Hardik when he walked down to bat but Virat Kohli stepped in and asked fans not to treat him badly.
The request from the star batter abruptly changed the environment where the crowd suddenly started to chant “Hardik, Hardik”.Â
Earlier, Simon Doull claimed that Hardik Pandya had suffered an injury but the allrounder continues to play the game without admitting it.
“I don’t understand booing. I kind of get it in the first game in Gujarat, because he played for them for two years and did not well as a captain. But then when he went to Hyderabad, I was like, ‘What’s going on.’ Then when he came back to Wankhede, his own home support was booing him. I did not understand that,” Vaughan said on a podcast.
Vaughan urged fans to back Hardik as India would need him to be fit and firing for the T20 World Cup.
Now, former England captain Michael Vaughan shared his views on Hardik Pandya being booed by fans in the Indian Premier League 2024.
“What Indian cricket fans need to understand is that Mumbai Indians are Indian fans and for India to win the T20 World Cup, they need Hardik Pandya. They need him to play well. So somehow, over the next few weeks, they need him to get that confidence level right upto the top level, because with India having Hardik flying, they got a great chance in lifting that trophy,” he added.
Speaking further on the MI captaincy drama, Vaughan suggested that Rohit should have been the captain of the franchise.
“I personally would’ve captained Rohit. Hardik coming back to MI is big enough pressure in itself, and Rohit is obviously going to be the Indian T20 captain. The sensible move would’ve been for Rohit to carry as MI captain with Hardik in mind for next year or 2,” Vaughan explained.
Before featuring in the IPL 2024, Hardik Pandya has been out of action since the ankle injury he sustained during the World Cup campaign. He missed the five-match T20I series against Australia on the home tour and also missed the ongoing India’s South Africa tour.
During his absence, the T20I star Suryakumar Yadav led the side against Australia and South Africa which resulted in a victory and a tie. Hardik also missed the Afghanistan T20I series which was the last T20I series for men in Blues before the Men’s T20 World Cup in June 2024.
