Life has become pretty tough for Mumbai Indians’ (MI) newly appointed captain Hardik Pandya. MI lost to Rajasthan Royals by six wickets in their last match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
It was the third consecutive loss for MI in the current edition of the cash-rich league. They have not opened their account yet and lying at the bottom of the table.
Earlier fans were not happy after the franchise replaced Rohit with Hardik as the captain. They had slammed the franchise and Hardik on various social media platforms over the development. Now, after team’s miserable show, they are venting their ire on the star all-rounder.
After being jeered in Ahmedabad and then Hyderabad, it was Hardik’s turn to face the heat from his very own – the Wankhede crowd as MI played their first home match of the IPL 2024 against Rajasthan Royals. They did not pass a single opportunity to let Pandya know what they felt about him during the match against Royals.
Though MI and Pandya are trying their best to win the crowd over, it’s not happening. The franchise is yet to officially address the fans’ backlash towards Hardik. However, towards the fag end of last night’s game, Rohit did his little to get a hold of the situation. Fielding near the boundary with RR needed just another handful of runs, Rohit used his hands to use the ‘calm down’ gesture. But it did little to change the crowd’s mind.