Former Lock Upp contestant & controversial model Poonam Pandey on Monday reacted to the Hardik Pandya controversy. Poonam Pandey took to her official X handle and fired her statement on the Wankhede crowd chanting against Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya. For the unversed, Mumbai Indians on Monday locked horns with Rajasthan Royals. It was Mumbai's first home game. It was the first time Hardik Pandya officially captained the Mumbai Indians in front of the Wankhede crowd.
Poonam Pandey took to her official X handle and wrote, "Why can I hear the crowd screaming #CHAPRI while watching #MIvsRR at Wankhede Stadium?" In another tweet, the controversial model wrote, "By the way what's this #CHAPRI ... Kya Meaning hai Iska? #MIvsRR"
Notably, ever since the IPL 2024 started, Hardik Pandya has been subject to social media trolling. Not only this but wherever the Mumbai Indians are playing, Hardik Pandya is getting booed by fans, and various derogatory chants are being hurled at the MI captain. It all started during the Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians match when the Ahmedabad crowd chanted against Hardik Pandya.
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'.
Coming back to the MIvsRR match, Mumbai registered its third consecutive loss in the IPL 2024. Courtesy of Boult & Burger's fiery spell at the start, and Chahal's spin in the middle overs, Mumbai was restricted to 125 runs. In response, Rajasthan Royals won the match by 6 wickets. Riyan Parag smashed 54 runs for RR but it was Trent Boult who was adjudged the player of the match.