With Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya continuing to receive hostile treatment from fans in the ongoing Indian Premier League, his teammate Shreyas Gopal felt on Wednesday it will only strengthen his resolve to come back stronger with some good performances. Pandya was announced as MI captain for the IPL 2024 season, replacing fan-favourite Rohit Sharma, who led the franchise to five titles. The change of guard hasn't gone down well with the fans, who have expressed their displeasure by booing Pandya across venues. Recalling his friendship with Pandya, Gopal said the MI skipper is mentally very strong to get unnerved by the behaviour of the crowd. "I have known Hardik for a decade, and nothing much has changed. He is a really tough guy, and something like this is only going to motivate him," said Gopal during a press conference ahead of the clash against Punjab Kings. "The way he has taken it so far is very inspiring for a lot of us. Although it's not easy to take it daily, he
MI vs CSK Playing 11: For Chennai fans, there was a good news as slinga Pathirana returned to CSK Playing 11, replacing compatriot Theekshana.
Former New Zealand cricketer and ace commentator, Simon Doull questioned Pandya's bowling ability and thereby his fitness
MI vs RCB Playing 11: Vaijaykumar Vyshak and Mahipal Lomror were back in the playing 11 of Bengaluru while Will Jacks made his debut replacing Cameron Green. Shreyas Gopal replaced Chawla in Mumbai
Mumbai Indians' all-rounder Tim David on Wednesday defended skipper Hardik Pandya's scoring rate in the ongoing IPL, saying he has been the "glue" which is holding the batting together for the five-time winners. Even though Pandya has struck at 138.46 to get 108 runs in four matches so far while batting at different slots, his failure to go ballistic in the middle as well as lower order has been noticeable this season. In the first game against his former side Gujarat Titans, Pandya succumbed to pressure after a four-ball 11 in a tricky chase whereas in the next, the MI skipper could only manage a 20-ball 24 at No 5 against Sunrisers Hyderabad while chasing a monumental 278. Pandya did a commendable job on a tough pitch against Rajasthan Royals to top-score with a 21-ball 34 in a low-scoring game, but his 33-ball 39 (3x4s, 1x6s) was in stark contrast to the other MI batters who went hammer and tongs to help the team record its highest total of 234/5 at home in the last match. "We h
There was some reprieve for Hardik Pandya at last as the Mumbai Indians' captain did not face crowd hostility at the Wankhede Stadium here during their IPL clash against Delhi Capitals on Sunday. With the stands mostly filled with around 18,000 children from various NGOs as the match was being played on the ESA (Education and Sports for All) day for the Reliance Foundation, the noise was all about cheering for the home team. Pandya had hitherto been booed and subjected to fans' anger in the first three matches played at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad as well as the Wankhede. The 29-year-old Pandya became the target of fans inside the stadiums as well as off it on social media ever since he left his former franchise Gujarat Titans to rejoin Mumbai Indians, replacing Rohit Sharma as the skipper of the five-time IPL winning side. Before Sunday's game, former India captain and ex BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had urged the fans to st
Hardik Pandya cannot thank Mumbai Indians management enough for their empathy, love and care which kept the team going even after losing the first three games under his captaincy and having to face the unfair wrath from home fans. His return to Mumbai Indians as captain, replacing their five-time IPL-winning skipper Rohit Sharma, did not sit well with fans as he faced constant booing during first three games, including the previous one at the Wankhede. The three losses to start the season added to the woes and Pandya found himself under intense scrutiny. "There was a lot of love and care going around, everyone knows we lost three games but the belief and backing was there, everyone believes we needed just one win and today was the start," Pandya said at the post-match presentation following their 29-run win over Delhi Capitals here. "It was a lot of hard work. We had to clear our minds and make sure that we believed," said the skipper as his team played the first game after six-da
From Hardik Pandya's Booing to MS Dhoni Turning the Clock Back in Vizag and Riyan Parag-Mayank Yadav's Rise. Here Are the Top Five Newsmakers from the First Two Weeks of IPL 2024
There was no letup in crowd hostility towards Hardik Pandya with fans booing the Mumbai Indians skipper as he walked out for toss in their IPL match against Rajasthan Royals on Monday, even as chants of 'Rohit Rohit' reverberated across the Wankhede Stadium. The 29-year-old Pandya, who replaced Rohit as the captain of the Mumbai Indians in the lead-up to the tournament, has already been subjected to crowd's anger over the franchise's decision regarding leadership during the team's previous two away games at Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. Pandya was booed by a section of the crowd before the toss when he was doing rounds of the field as a warm-up exercise. The flamboyant all-rounder was then booed again when his named was announced at the time of the toss, to which Pandya only smiled as loud chants in support of the former Mumbai skipper Rohit filled the venue. The jeers continued as Pandya began speaking after losing the toss to Rajasthan Royals' skipper Sanju Samson, forcing presenter .
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya on Monday urged his team to show a bit more "discipline" and "courage" to turn things around after suffering a third successive loss in the IPL 2024. Asked to bat, MI were left tottering at 20 for 4 in the fourth over and they just couldn't recover from the disastrous start, managing only 125 for nine in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, Rajasthan Royals overhauled the target with 27 balls to spare for a six-wicket win. "We didn't start the way we wanted to, tough night tonight," Hardik told the broadcasters after the match. "Results, sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn't. I don't think much surprises me anymore. But as a group we believe we can pull off a lot of better things going forward and we just need to be more disciplined and show more courage." It was Hardik's 21-ball 34 which pushed MI's total. But things went downhill after he was sent back by Yuzvendra Chahal. "I think we were in a decent position to give us a chance to get to 1
This statement from Manjrekar came in light of alleged booing that Pandya has received in the last two matches as captain of the MI team in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad
Sidhu observed that when the captain of the Indian cricket team is not leading his franchise, and that too involuntarily, it undermines the fans' pride
IPL's perennial slow-starters Mumbai Indians under new captain Hardik Pandya will hope for a happy homecoming when they take on a confident Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium here on Monday. Despite the change at the helm with Pandya replacing five-time title-winning skipper Rohit Sharma -- a move that has sparked brutal attack on the former -- Mumbai Indians have once again made a familiar disappointing start to their IPL campaign as they lost their first two matches. A six-run defeat to Pandya's former team Gujarat Titans was followed by a walloping by Sunrisers Hyderabad who won the record run-fest by 32 runs in Hyderabad, with Mumbai Indians plummeting to the last spot in the 10-team points table. These are still early days in the 17th edition of the T20 league but Pandya's Mumbai Indians will need to end their losing streak and improve their Net Run Rate which is the worst among all teams at -0.925. Among the odds stacked up against them is the absence of Suryakumar Yada
"Have you seen, for instance, Joe Root and Jos Buttler fans fight? Do you see Steven Smith fans fighting with Pat Cummins fans in Australia?" Ashwin questioned the Indian fans
Hardik Pandya's previous worst defeat by runs as the captain was 27 in IPL 2023 when Gujarat lost against MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Social media hit a storm of funny Hardik Pandya memes after the second consecutive defeat of Mumbai Indians. Check the 10 most funny memes
With the presence of Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik might not get to bat in the top four, but he must bat at number five and assign Tim David and Mohammad Nabi the role of finishers
'When you come to replace a personality like Rohit Sharma, who is already a phenomenal achiever when it comes to the Mumbai Indians. It will take some time, it will settle'
Rohit Sharma will not be the captain of the Mumbai side for the first time in a decade, and Hardik Pandya, who won a title in his inaugural season as captain of Gujarat Titans
IPL 2024 Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians Highlights: Mohit Sharma took big wickets of Brevis and David while Sai Kishore removed Rohit. Umesh defended 18 in last over to give Titans a thrilling win