Mumbai Indians’ (MI) have had a forgettable start to IPL 2024 as the Hardik Pandya‘s brigade has lost 2 back to back matches in the tournament. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) thrashed MI’s bowling unit as all the bowlers were taken to the cleaners. Hardik Pandya‘s captaincy too was quite questionable as he held back the lethal speedster Jasprit Bumrah which didn’t work well.
Perhaps Hardik Pandya should not open the bowling for the side as his line & length is quite predictable. MI’s head coach Mark Boucher would be thinking of changing the combination as the inexperienced pacer Kwena Maphaka was whacked all around the park. Hardik Pandya was quite frustrated and angry on the field as the bowlers had no answer to SRH’s brutal hitting.
It won’t be wrong to say that MI is badly missing the services of the swashbuckling batter Suryakumar Yadav who is yet to get the clearance from NCA as earlier he was injured. Former skipper Rohit Sharma would be keen to make a statement that he is not finished yet, so far the batter has amassed 69 runs in 2 innings and with T20 WC 2024 around the corner, the batter needs to up the ante.
Some fans are booing Hardik Pandya and it’s certainly something he wouldn’t have experienced- Steve Smith
Steve Smith was having an interaction with ESPNCricinfo. Steve Smith pointed out that the MI skipper Hardik Pandya is in the middle of the challenging time and said that it won’t be easy for Hardik to fill the big shoes of Rohit Sharma. Steve Smith stated that it would be interesting to see what will be the reception for Hardik Pandya in MI’s home game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on 1st April.
“I’d try and just say, to block it out, it’s all irrelevant. No one outside knows what you are going through. No one [from outside] is in that change room. Personally, for me, it doesn’t bother me. I don’t care. I don’t pay any attention. You know it’s all white noise, but certainly players do hear things and everyone’s entitled to their own emotions and how they respond to those,” said Steve Smith.
“So is it affecting him? Maybe. It’s possible. He probably hasn’t experienced that before in, in any walk of life. So it’s natural, I suppose, and particularly being in India and a star Indian player, to be in that position where some fans are booing you, it’s certainly something he wouldn’t have experienced,” he stated.
“Hardik is in the middle of a challenging time, losing the first two games their IPL season. It’s a big one for him. He’s filling big shoes with Rohit Sharma, who’s been the most successful captain [with Dhoni] in IPL history, lifting five titles, and it hasn’t started well for him. So he’s under a little bit of pressure at the moment and it’ll be interesting to see what the reception’s like in their first home game at Wankhede in a couple of days,” he added.