Hardik Pandya to Encounter Louder Boos at Wankhede, Suggests Former Cricketer Manoj Tiwary

Cric News India IPL News 2025

March 27, 2024 0 1020

Manoj Tiwary predicted that Hardik Pandya may face intensified jeering from Mumbai Indians supporters at the Wankhede Stadium during IPL 2024 due to the unexpected change in captaincy.

Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary suggests that the newly appointed Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya might face even stronger disapproval from fans during their first home game at Wankhede Stadium in IPL 2024.

Pandya faced a very hostile atmosphere in Ahmedabad during MI’s season opener against Gujarat Titans (GT). The fans expressed their dissatisfaction towards Pandya both during the toss and while he was fielding with loud jeering and slogans.

“You have to see how he gets welcomed here in Mumbai because I think he is going to get booed a bit louder here. Because as a fan, a Mumbai fan or a Rohit Sharma fan, nobody expected that captaincy would be given to Hardik,” Manoj told the news agency PTI.

“And despite Rohit giving five trophies to Mumbai Indians, he has to lose the captaincy. I don’t know what the reasons are, but I think it has not gone down well with the fans. And that is the reaction which you see on the field,” he added.

After two seasons with Gujarat Titans, Pandya returned to Mumbai Indians through a significant trade deal and assumed the captaincy from Rohit Sharma.

However, Pandya’s captaincy tactics came under scrutiny, notably when he promoted Tim David over himself in the batting order against GT. Additionally, there were questions raised when he chose to start bowling with a new ball instead of giving overs in the powerplay to MI’s seasoned pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

Tiwary further noted that despite facing boos, Hardik remained composed, showing signs of a strong temperament. He also emphasized the importance for Hardik to concentrate on the game amidst distractions from the crowd, especially with the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup in mind.