India and Rajasthan Royals off-spinner R Ashwin has spoken against the booing of Hardik Pandya in the IPL 2024.
There has been a huge amount of vitriol spread against Hardik Pandya on social media which came in reflection when he was heavily booed and name-called at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad in MI’s two matches so far.
A huge section of the fans are unhappy and angry with Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma as the Mumbai Indians captain, ending Rohit’s 11-season tenure as Mumbai’s man at the helm.
A couple of experts have suggested that Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians should release a statement asking the fans to support Hardik.
R Ashwin, though, believes there shouldn’t be the need for a statement of peace from Rohit because, he feels, there isn’t a need for the fans to boo Hardik Pandya, an India all-rounder who is crucial to the national side. Ashwin said that this is not the first time in Indian cricket that a senior player and former captain is playing under a junior. He pointed out that Sachin Tendulkar played under Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and MS Dhoni, all three of whom came after him.
Ravi Ashwin said, “If you don’t like a player and boo a player, why should a team come out to issue a clarification? We act like this has not happened before. Sachin played under Ganguly’s captaincy, these two have both played under Rahul Dravid. These three have played under Kumble and all of them have played under Dhoni. When they were under MS, these players were cricket giants”.
“Fans booing Hardik Pandya was disappointing”: Steve Smith
Steve Smith, who himself have faced the booing and heckling of crowd following his return from a year-long ban, said Hardik getting booed by Indian crowds, in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, was “disappointing”. Smith also says it would be interesting to see the reaction of the Wankhede crowd.
“Hardik is in the middle of a challenging time, losing the first two games their IPL season. It’s a big one for him. He’s filling big shoes with Rohit Sharma, who’s been the most successful captain [with Dhoni] in IPL history, lifting five titles, and it hasn’t started well for him,’ Smith said on ESPNcricinfo.
“So he’s under a little bit of pressure at the moment and it’ll be interesting to see what the reception’s like in their first home game at Wankhede in a couple of days’ time. We have heard a few boos going around at the grounds, which… that’s been disappointing from my aspect. But I’m intrigued to see what the reception’s like in Mumbai. We know how big a star Rohit is and how much he is loved inside that stadium.”
MI play their first home game of the season against RR on April 1st.
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