Ex-Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary believes Hardik Pandya faces louder jeers. As Mumbai Indians’ new skipper, he’ll enter their home turf – Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium. Tiwary feels the crowd’s boos will intensify when Pandya takes the field there.
On Sunday, March 24, the Ahmedabad crowd booed Hardik Pandya, who was leading the five-time winners for the first time in the IPL after replacing the hugely successful Rohit Sharma against his previous side, the Gujarat Titans.
Regrettably the night evolved into a memory to be swiftly erased for the 30yearold allrounder as he faced relentless scrutiny from the fans during the entire match.
During an interview discussing PTI videos Manoj Tiwary vividly described the anticipation of a hostile atmosphere at the Wankhede Stadium when Hardik Pandya approaches for the toss.
“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 will be given to Hardik.”
Manoj Tiwary
“Despite Rohit giving five trophies to Mumbai Indians, he has to lose the captaincy” – Manoj Tiwary
The former Kolkata Knight Riders star, who was a member of their 2012 IPL winning side, also stated that he could not understand why Rohit Sharma lost his leadership after winning five IPL championships with Mumbai. He said:
“And despite Rohit giving five trophies to Mumbai Indians, he has to lose the captaincy. I don’t know what are the reasons but I think it has not gone down well with the fans. And that is the reaction which you see on the field.”
Manoj Tiwary
The 38-year-old, who is presently working as the Sports Minister of West Bengal, also showered admiration on Hardik Pandya’s ability to deal with public anger, stating:
“Knowing him, whatever I have been observing of late through television, that despite getting booed, he kept his calm, he kept his nerve, which is the sign of a good temperament.”
Manoj Tiwary
Manoj Tiwary emphasized the necessity of Hardik Pandya staying focused on doing well for the squad as the 2024 Men’s ICC T20 World Cup approaches, adding:
“I believe even if he was not booed, he has to perform well to get into the Indian team to play the World Cup. Because it is important for all the players to perform well and be fit as well to be available for selection. And him being the number one all-rounder… obviously, he has to be in form and to be in form he has to perform.”
Manoj Tiwary
Then, Mumbai Indians will have Sunrisers Hyderabad to deal with which will from captained by the man who earlier led Australia Pat Cummins and will clash on Wednesday, 27th of March at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The first home(on Monday, April 1st) fixture of the team from India, the Men in Blue, will come against the Rajasthan Royals of this season.