After all the drama surrounding his takeover of Mumbai Indians’ captaincy, Hardik Pandya received a not-so-warm reception from the crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. In his maiden appearance as MI skipper, Hardik was subjected to booing from the crowd.
The biggest story during the IPL off-season was the transfer of the Baroda-based all-rounder from the Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians. Hardik playing for his former team was a major move. However, Rohit Sharma’s removal from the captaincy position in favor of the former Titans captain stunned the fans.
Hardik Pandya receives hostile reception from Ahmedabad crowd
Whether the Mumbai Indians fans appreciate this decision or not remains to be seen. But the crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium let their views be known. Not only was Hardik Pandya booed at the time of the toss, he was also booed when he brought himself on to bowl the first over.
This was an especially curious decision as the Indians have a couple of prominent fast bowlers to take the new ball – Jasprit Bumrah and Gerald Coetzee. Hardik’s faith in his own abilities didn’t produce the desired results. He conceded 11 runs in the first over of the innings.
You can see the videos of the crowd’s hostile reaction to Hardik Pandya here:
Hear those Boos after Hardik Pandya name was announced !!??
The Shame on his face after listening it!?#GTvsMIpic.twitter.com/WvBaTyZ4lJ
— ???????s??? (@45Fan_Prathmesh) March 24, 2024
Another booes from Ahmedabad crowd after hardik pandya name was announced for Bowling !
This was a Huge booe !!??#GTvsMI pic.twitter.com/gN0bmyngm8
— Melbo (@Thewhite__guy) March 24, 2024
Jasprit Bumrah shows his class
Jasprit Bumrah proved his value when he did come on to bowl, as the first-change bowler, in the fourth over. Bumrah picked up the first wicket of the innings, in the form of Wriddhiman Saha.
Hardik, on the other hand, conceded 20 runs in his first two overs. One wonders whether choosing to open the bowling was his attempt to make a statement. If it was, it certainly didn’t work. It also set tongues wagging on social media.
Hardik Pandya has had great success in his two seasons as the captain of the team. He led them to the IPL title in their very first season – in 2022. They almost retained their title in the following season. A last-ball six from Ravindra Jadeja took the trophy away from them and gave it to Chennai Super Kings.
This year, the Titans are being led by Shubman Gill. The Punjab batsman has been a rising star of Indian cricket. He had a great season last year and would look to prove himself as a leader this year.