Five-time IPL title-winning team – Mumbai Indians are really having a tough time this season under new captain Hardik Pandya. Mumbai Indians so far won just 2 games out of six they played and positioned in the 8th spot in the IPL 2024 Points Table.
Apart from other losses, the defeat against Chennai Super Kings triggered the Mumbai fans to a new level while many came forward and balmed Hardik Pandya after the all-rounder put in a subpar performance with both the bat and the ball.
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”.
Earlier, Simon Doull claimed that Hardik Pandya had suffered an injury but the allrounder continues to play the game without admitting it.
Now, Mumbai Indians’ batting coach, Kieron Pollard comes forward to clarify this issue and said “he can bat, bowl, and field”.
“I am fed up of [us] looking to pinpoint individuals; cricket is a team game at the end of the day. This is an individual who is going to represent the country in less than six weeks’ time, and all are going to cheer him and want him to do well.
So it is high time we try to encourage and stop nitpicking and see if we can get the best out of one of the great all-rounders India has produced. He can bat, bowl, and field, and has an X-factor about him,” Pollard was quoted as saying in a report.
Furthermore, Pollard talked about how Pandya, as a player, is trying to evolve and reflected on how taking accountability and responsibility for performances comes with time and experience in the game.
“As an individual, you have to evolve, When you are young, you have the youthful exuberance. You go out and do things in a certain manner. The older you get, accountability and responsibility kick in. What I am seeing is the guy is evolving. We, as individuals, want to see certain things but sometimes the game does not demand certain things and [players] are going to make mistakes as you go along, as we all have done,” he added.
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.
