The five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) have yet to secure a win in the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team's start under their new captain Hardik Pandya has fallen short of expectations. The MI fanbase has criticised his leadership, expressing their dissatisfaction by booing him at all three venues where they've played, including their home ground, the Wankhede Stadium.
Delhi Capitals’ (DC) Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly has called on fans to refrain from booing Hardik Pandya. Former India captain Ganguly urged fans not to boo their captain Hardik, stating it's not his fault that the franchise appointed him as captain. He also praised Hardik and referred to Rohit Sharma as a ‘different class’ player.
"Fans shouldn't boo Hardik Pandya, it's not correct. The franchise has appointed him captain. That's what happens in sports, whether you captain India or you captain your franchise, you are appointed as captain," Ganguly said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the match against MI.
"Rohit Sharma is a different class. His performance for this franchise, his performance for India, has been on a different level, as captain and as a player. It's not Hardik's fault that he has been appointed as captain," he added.
Tough start for Hardik Pandya
Under Hardik's captaincy, MI has lost all three games in their campaign. Despite this, MI is known for being slow starters, often losing their initial matches before ultimately winning the tournament. Last year, before the auction, Hardik was traded from the Gujarat Titans (GT) to MI in an all-cash deal and was named captain, succeeding Rohit Sharma, under whose leadership they won five titles.
MI will look for its first win of the season when they face DC. After three matches, they have lost all three and are at the bottom of the points table. In their last match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), MI was defeated by 6 wickets. In another match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the MI bowlers had a tough outing as their opponents amassed a total of 277 runs, the highest in IPL history. Meanwhile, DC is looking to get their campaign back on track after a 106-run defeat to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
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