Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya has become the center of controversies in this IPL season. Considering the way he was criticized for his captaincy during the Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Titans match, Pandya is certainly not having a peaceful time on or off the field. Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has now come forward and warned Pandya for his next match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Tiwary told PTI that Pandya might get louder boos in Wankhede where Mumbai Indians will face off Rajasthan Royals because he believes that no MI fan or Rohit Sharma fan expected the captaincy to go to Pandya. “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,” Tiwari told PTI.
For context, Pandya’s return to the Mumbai Indians (MI) didn’t begin on a high note. Not only did his team lose the match against Gujarat Titans, his captaincy did not go down well with the fans either.
When Pandya had assembled on the field for the toss, he had to face significant booing from the Ahmedabad crowd, coupled with chants of “Rohit Rohit”. Furthermore, criticism flooded social media regarding his tactical decisions, such as not assigning the new ball to Jasprit Bumrah and delaying his own batting entry.
Taking all the aspects into account, Tiwary also went on to praise Hardik Pandya‘s composure, noting that despite facing jeers, the all-rounder remained composed and resilient. He also emphasized on the importance of solid performances for the Mumbai Indians captain to secure a spot in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2024.