Underfire MI captain Hardik Pandya will win over the fans with his performance, admits IPL teammate
IPL 2024: Pietersen believes Pandya is masking his feelings by wearing a smile constantly
Hardik Pandya has suffered enough wrath from fans for his appointment as Mumbai Indians captain in place of Rohit Sharma ahead of the 2024 season. His IPL teammate Ishan Kishan says it’s about time before he wins over them with his performance. The management’s call to remove Rohit and name Pandya as the new skipper irked the fan base with the crowd booing Hardik at every stadium he plays at.
Even at his home venue – the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the fans continued booing him while he walked out to bat against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) the other night. Pandya played a handy cameo coming in at fourto win the game for the hosts, their second in five contested matches thus far.
Reflecting on fans turning on Pandya, mainly for how he took over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma, Kishan said having spent a lot of time with Pandya, he must be enjoying this as a challenge, knowing he can turn this around with his performance this season.
“He [Hardik] loves challenges, he has been in this situation before and he is in that situation right now," Kishan said. “He is not someone who will come out and talk about it and say let's stop this or that. I know that he must be enjoying it. I know him personally.
“I have spent a lot of time with him. He is ready for the challenges because you cannot complain to the fans, they will come up with their explanations and their point of view,” Kishan added.
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The young left-handed batter said Pandya would take positives out of this situation, and bring in his A-game to get the trust of fans back and accept him as Mumbai Indians’ captain.
Fans will love, accept Pandya as MI captain
"Knowing how Hardik Pandya thinks, he is happy with people doing it but I know that in the coming games, he will do it with the bat and people will start loving him [again]. People also recognise your hard work, and what you are going through and still you are doing so well for your team.
"Our fans will be a little harsh on you but at the same time when you do well, or when you show that it is [still] not bothering you and [that] you are in a good headspace, that might change. If not today, tomorrow. If not tomorrow, the day after tomorrow,” Kishan concluded.
Meanwhile, with two successive wins, Mumbai has climbed to the seventh spot on the points table.
They next face Chennai Super Kings in the home game on Sunday (April 14) evening.
