The iconic Wankhede Stadium on Monday hosted its first IPL 2024 match with Hardik Pandya leading Mumbai Indians and Sanju Samson spearheading Rajasthan Royals. The five-time IPL champions MI skipper Hardik Pandya has been on the receiving ends on both social media as well as on the ground. Ever since Pandya was appointed MI skipper in place of Rohit Sharma, the all-rounder has been facing social media trolling and even booed by fans in the stadium. As a result, former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar had to appeal to the Wankhede crowd to behave as he introduced Hardik Pandya during the toss.
During the MIvRR Toss, Sanjay Manjrekar said, "Big round of applause to Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya, and behave." Listening to this, MI skipper Hardik Pandya smiled a little, however, the crowd remained quiet. The Wankhede crowd did not cheer much for Team India's allrounder & MI's new skipper.
Notably, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bowl first. During the toss, Hardik Pandya said, "We were planning to bowl first. It's quite exciting to be a part of this game. We always look forward to the future, need to follow the process. Looking forward to playing a brand of cricket everyone enjoys. Playing the same team."
Why fans are angry with Hardik Pandya?
There are three reasons for fans' anger. Gujarat Titans fans are angry at Hardik Pandya as he left the team and rejoined Mumbai Indians (MI). The Mumbai Indians (MI) fans are angry at Hardik for taking the captaincy role in the team when Rohit Sharma is already in the squad. The third reason is Hardik Pandya had to pull out from ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 due to a 'freak injury'.
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