A wave of boos erupted at Wankhede Stadium on April 1 as Mumbai Indians' new captain Hardik Pandya walked out for the toss against Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash. This wasn't an isolated incident, rather a continuation of the unexpected hostility Pandya has faced from MI fans throughout the tournament. It seems a portion of the Mumbai Indians faithful haven't yet warmed up to Hardik as their leader. This comes after the team's leadership transition, with Hardik taking the reins from Rohit Sharma for the IPL 2024 season. Rohit, the current Indian cricket team captain, boasts a massive fan following in India, comparable to legends like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. His legacy with Mumbai Indians includes five IPL titles, a factor that might be influencing the crowd's reaction to his success
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Morgan left shocked by Hardik Pandya's booing
Meanwhile, during a conversation with Jio Cinema, former England skipper Eoin Morgan was left shocked by the way Pandya was booed by the home crowd at Wankhede.
"Rohit Fans are around the world and it seems they are not happy with the decision and I haven't seen any Indian cricketer getting booed like this," Morgan said.
A chorus of boos erupted at Wankhede Stadium as Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya's name was announced for the toss against RR. This hostile reception prompted former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who was conducting the toss ceremony, to intervene and urge the crowd to ‘behave’.
Sanjay Manjrekar schools hostile fans
The toss for the Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals match, things got tense. As former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar announced "MI captain Hardik Pandya," a wave of boos instead of applause greeted him. Manjrekar, attempting to restore order, had to call out to the crowd with a firm "Behave, ladies and gentlemen." This wasn't a one-off incident, the boos for Pandya have become a recurring theme throughout the IPL season. Adding fuel to the fire, loud chants erupted for the previous captain, Rohit Sharma.
However, Hardik looked completely unaffected by the boos as he carried on with the toss ceremony. After losing the toss Hardik said:
“It’s quite exciting to be a part of this game. We always look forward to the future, need to follow the process. Looking forward to playing a brand of cricket everyone enjoys."
Hardik was earlier subjected to such boos in MI's first two IPL 2024 games before being subjected to such treatment by the home crowd at Wankhede. Understandably, some Gujarat Titans fans in Ahmedabad, where Mumbai played their opening match, expressed their disapproval of Hardik's departure after leading them to their first IPL title. He was then booed during clash against CSK at Chepauk stadium.
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI):
Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jasprit Bumrah, Kwena Maphaka
Mumbai Indians Subs: Dewald Brevis, Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Nehal Wadhera, Shams Mulani
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI):
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Rajasthan Royals Subs: Rovman Powell, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Sen, Shubham Dubey, Abid Mushtaq
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