For the new captain of the Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya, it has not been an ideal start. For the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League, after completing a sensational transfer to Mumbai, Hardik-led MI entered a new era with back-to-back defeats. He failed to ace the captaincy test against his former franchise as the Gujarat Titans defeated the Rohit Sharma-starrer side in their season opener match of the IPL 2024.
After this, Hardik and Co. were defeated by Sunrisers Hyderabad in a match where Hyderabad smashed the highest-ever total in the history of the IPL. Now, after a poor start in the cash-rich league, for their first home game of the new season, MI has arrived in Mumbai. On Monday, the Men in Blue will play against the winners of the 2008 Rajasthan Royals at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. From fans of the Gujarat Titans expressing their displeasure to trolls calling out the skipper of MI on social media after the clash against SRH, so far this season, In Ahmedabad and Hyderabad Pandya has received an unkind reception by fans.
At the IPL 2024, with Pandya at the receiving end of the crowd’s nonstop booing, as per the report, the Mumbai Cricket Association can take action against the fans that create trouble at the venue of the match. However, according to the statement of the source close to MCA, the board of cricket is only going to follow the guidelines of the audience that were issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The source said in the statement that there are no specific instructions given for this specific match. There have been guidelines that have been issued by the BCCI on the behavior of the spectators in the stadium over the years. This process is one that was followed and is going to be followed in all the matches, whether they are IPL or domestic.”
The leadership change at MI involving Hardik and the former captain Rohit has not been well received by the fans of the IPL. Hardik Pandya has parted ways with his former franchise, GT, to rejoin MI for the 2024 season of the Cash Rich League. The all-rounder of MI guided GT to their first-ever IPL title while making his debut as captain in the T20 tournament back in 2022. Hardik has replaced former captain Rohit, who has taken MI to record five IPL titles.
