MI skipper Hardik Pandya has received fan criticism and has been unable to lead his team to victory yet; however, Steve Smith backed him and urged the crowd to support him.
Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya has faced criticism from fans since taking over the reins from Rohit Sharma. This comes as the team struggles at the bottom of the IPL 2024 points table after losing their opening three matches as well as his animated behaviour towards the former skipper of MI.
Australian cricketer Steve Smith weighed in on the situation, urging MI fans to move past their disappointment and support their new leader. “I’d love to see them supporting Hardik. Obviously, there are a lot of huge Rohit fans out there. A lot of people are a bit annoyed that he’s not the captain of the team. But everyone needs to let go of that and support Hardik.
Pandya’s leadership has been met with boos from fans in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and even their home stadium, the Wankhede Stadium, during their recent match against the Rajasthan Royals. Smith acknowledged the transition has not been smooth but highlighted Pandya’s past success. “He’s a wonderful player. He had a lot of success in Gujarat (Titans). He’s back as the captain of the side in Mumbai now. The senior players need to help him out,” added Smith.
Some fans remain unhappy with Pandya because of the comments that he made last year, which described that MI relied heavily on buying star players rather than nurturing talent. However, there are other fans who believe the franchise could have handled the captaincy change with more transparency.
With the team’s performance suffering, a united front with the fans cheering the skipper could be the key to turning their season around. The Mumbai camp currently sits at the bottom of the IPL points table and will be looking to salvage their standings as they face the Delhi Capitals on April 7th.
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Last Updated on April 6, 2024
