Bollywood actor Sonu Sood has spoken out in favor of new Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya, who is facing fan backlash after taking over as captain from Rohit Sharma. Sood stated that footballers should be respected and not booed since they are ‘heroes’.
Hardik Pandya has been subjected to violent behavior from supporters in recent days. He was repeatedly booed during MI’s IPL 2024 opener against his previous team, the Gujarat Titans, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The ugly behavior persisted in Mumbai’s second encounter against SunRisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad as well.
Apart from being booed, Hardik Pandya has also been verbally insulted by some of the spectators. In a frightening video, individuals were seen hurling sandals at a TV screen when the MI captain was conducting an interview.
On Saturday, March 30, Sood took to his X account to support the under-fire player and published the following message:
“We should respect our players. Players who made us proud, players who made our country proud. One day you cheer for them, next day you boo them. It’s not they, it’s us who fail.
“I love cricket. I love every cricketer who represents my country. Doesn’t matter which franchise he plays for. Doesn’t matter whether he’s plays as a Captain or he’s the 15th man in a team. They are our Heroes.”
Sonu Sood
Hardik Pandya’s next showcase arrives when the IPL 2024 commences. Mumbai Indians face Rajasthan Royals. It takes place on April 1st, Monday, at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Ravichandran Ashwin Raises Concerns Over Fans’ Treatment of Hardik Pandya
Ravichandran Ashwin, a senior Team India off-spinner and Rajasthan Royals player, has also defended Pandya amid the current issue and chastised supporters for their bad behavior.
On his YouTube channel, Ashwin stated that booing a player is unacceptable regardless of the reason.
“Have you seen this happen in any other country? Have you seen Joe Root and Zak Crawley fans fight? Or have you seen Joe Root and Jos Buttler fans fight? It’s crazy. Have you seen Steve Smith and Pat Cummins fans fight in Australia?”
“Fan wars should never go in this ugly a route. One should remember which country these players represent – our country. So then what warrants a cricketer getting booed? I don’t understand.”
Ravichandran Ashwin
Under Pandya, the Mumbai Indians lost to the Gujarat Titans by six runs in their first IPL 2024 game and to SunRisers Hyderabad by 31 runs in their second.