Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya shocked the fans by joining the Mumbai Indians before of the 2024 Indian Premier League after playing for the Gujarat Titans for two years. Social media supporters greeted him warmly, but when he took over as captain from Rohit Sharma, everything changed dramatically. On matchdays, Hardik was greeted with jeers, foul language, and even racial epithets as a result of the same supporters’ turn against him.
The 30-year-old didn’t respond to any of those, but he later acknowledged that it did have an impact on him at one point. The skipper was under additional strain because of Mumbai’s poor on-field performance. That all changed, though, during the T20 World Cup, when Hardik was instrumental in the Indian team’s setup, which helped the Men in Blue defeat South Africa in the championship match and win the prized trophy.
As for Hardik being jeered during the IPL, his teammate Jasprit Bumrah recently talked about it and said that all of the players were there to encourage and converse with him.
It’s vital to take things on the chin, he said, adding that some things are beyond control because people in this country are emotional.
“You must accept it on the chin. It is when the inner circle enters the picture. That is not something that our staff promotes or encourages. That isn’t justified, in our opinion. Hardik and I were chatting to him to see if he needed any assistance. Some things are out of your control. Should it occur, it did occur. After we won the World Cup, the story abruptly shifted. This is the trip’s component. It’s the world vs us. We’ll do our best to provide as much assistance as we can,” Jasprit Bumrah stated to The Indian Express.
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“The nation in which we live is emotionally charged. Both athletes and fans experience emotion. Being an Indian player and occasionally hearing negative things from your own supporters does have an impact. However, things are as they are. You must accept it as there is no way for you to go out there and stop people. He went on.