Hardik Pandya was booed yet again by the Wankhede crowd as Mumbai Indians succumbed to their fourth loss in IPL 2024 on Sunday. On a two-match winning streak leading up to the match against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at home, Mumbai were the favourites to chase down 206 in the nigh game, with the dew setting in. But a stellar bowling from CSK fast bowlers in the middle overs left MI 20 runs short despite a fighting century from Rohit Sharma.
The booing seemed louder on Sunday for Hardik Pandya as he walked out for toss, later when he was smashed by MS Dhoni in CSK's last over and after the match ended with MI slipping to the eighth spot in the table.
Giving his two cents on the hostility from the home crowd towards their captain, former Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist, speaking to Cricbuzz, drew a fresh ‘Rohit’ theory in the explaining why the fans have still not accepted Hardik. He reckoned that while trades have been part of the league, MI's stance was rather abrupt. Not only did they acquire Hardik “out of the blue”, but also named him the captain instantly, denying that transitional phase for the fans.
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“High-profile teams are a victim of their own success. There are often trades that come out of the blue, and fans feel like, 'hand on, we are not invested in this'. They feel that they are part of this big picture and hence feel blindsided. The way this Hardik traded came out of nowhere and the transition from Rohit to Hardik...whether Rohit was happy or not or if he was considered or not. So that is where this feeling is coming,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“High-profile teams are a victim of their own success. There are often trades that come out of the blue, and fans feel like, 'hand on, we are not invested in this'. They feel that they are part of this big picture and hence feel blindsided. The way this Hardik traded came out of nowhere and the transition from Rohit to Hardik...whether Rohit was happy or not or if he was considered or not. So that is where this feeling is coming,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking further on the issue, Gilchrist also expressed worry the current MI situation after Hardik's post-match comment on MS Dhoni, where he said, “There's a man behind the stumps who tells them what's working.” The Aussie legend felt that the statement signified that Hardik is lacking similar kind of support from his MI team members and that is an air of uncertainty within the dugout.
“That line about Dhoni is interesting. It tells that maybe he is feeling a bit of a lone wolf at the moment. Maybe it is all having a bit of an effect because he is having the feeling that he has not got support around him. But his observation of the opposition is that hang on, he (Gaikwad) has got the support there, an experienced one obviously. It tells me a bit about the mindset of Hardik at the moment and the uncertainty and hesitation in the MI dugout,” he said.