Someone should have told Hardik Pandya that this would happen. Ravichandran Ashwin held cinema culture responsible for this. Steve Smith said that all this is irrelevant. Ravi Shastri feels that the entire captaincy controversy at Mumbai Indians (MI) could have been avoided. While Michael Vaughan insisted that he never saw the Indian crowd booing one of their own players, Adam Gilchrist simply highlighted the greatness of Rohit Sharma. With opinion on Hardik’s reign weakening and Mumbai left vacant, former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has opted to throw his weight behind the MI skipper amid the litmus test in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Where were you Mumbai Indians fan when Heartfelt was considered surplus to requirements before ipl 2022 auction, Did Hardik get a hostile reception when he deployed his troops at Wankhede? Gujarat Titans Captain? The Baroda all-rounder signed a lucrative deal with GT as the local hero becomes the captain of the debutants in IPL 2022. After guiding the 2022 winners to back-to-back finals, Hardik completed his IPL homecoming by re-joining Mumbai Indians in an all-cash deal ahead of the 2024 auction.
Finally, if MI could go back in time and send a message to Hardik, what would they have done to make for a seamless leadership transition like Chennai Super Kings? In Hardik’s case, foresight is a useless tool. As Watson rightly said while answering Hindustan Times Question about fans reaction towards Hardik – You live, learn and move forward. Former Australian all-rounder Watson feels that even Mumbai Indians would have never imagined that Hardik would get such a bad reception on home ground after taking over the captaincy.
MI may have done things differently to reduce the reaction
“The way things are going. In the end, it always happens..(laughs) It’s a really great thing that you don’t have until it comes out, and unfortunately, the reaction to Hardik has been really There is no one in, he, as an individual, Mumbai Indians, the franchise, if they had time, I am sure they would have done things a little bit differently to reduce that reaction a little bit, that unnecessary There was no need to come. But you live and learn. And like us, everyone is living and learning. One of the world’s leading sports franchises is also learning. And that’s the beauty of life, taking every experience and trying to do better next time,” said Watson, who is an IPL expert. GeoCinema.
perform or perish
Facing the wrath of MI fans in his homecoming game against Watson’s former franchise, Rajasthan Royals (RR), Hardik was booed by Mumbai fans at the Wankhede. After Hardik went through a hostile round of booing, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar infamously urged the crowd to ‘behave’ during the live telecast. In a match where there was no let up in the crowd’s hostility against Hardik at a packed Wankhede, chants of ‘Rohit-Rohit’ echoed at the famous venue. However, the underfire Pandya remained calm when he came out to bat for Mumbai Paltan. The MI captain tried to silence his critics as the 30-year-old top scorer (34 off 21 balls) for the hosts in a low-scoring encounter.
Time to put on blinkers for Hardik Pandya…
“For Hardik, one thing he has done very well throughout his career is to block out the noise, put on blinkers, put on headphones and focus on his ability to execute his skills immensely . Applied pressure and he did it. He has already done this for Mumbai Indians. Apparently he did the same for Gujarat Titans under immense pressure. With bat and ball, and as a leader – the way you silence critics with your reaction is through performance! And he’s got a platform to be out there and perform,” Watson added.
Can Hardik shut down DC vs Shore?
After Wankhede vented their anger and MI lost the first three games of the new season, Hardik and Co. will be keen to pull off an upset against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Match No. 20 of IPL 2024. MI will host Rishabh Pant’s team. At the same place. The return of key batsman Suryakumar Yadav has given a boost to the consistently slow starters. Hardik can reignite the bond with MI fans by ending Mumbai’s winless streak at home on Sunday. Can Hardik turn off the noise? Watson feels it is time for the Mumbai Indians captain to don headphones.
The bubble is bulletproof when Pandya is at his best
“He is an incredibly skilled cricketer and he is a great tactician and a great leader. So he just needs to shut out the noise that’s clearly around. And he just needs to put his headphones on and not allow the noise that’s around the field and that noise to be able to penetrate his bubble, when he’s at his best, that bubble is bulletproof,” The former CSK star concluded
