Recently, during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai fans booed their new captain, Hardik Pandya, as he walked out for the toss against Rajasthan on Monday, April 1. The boos were so loud that Pandya couldn’t hear the broadcaster, Sanjay Manjrekar, who was hosting the toss.
A section of the crowd started chanting “Rohit, Rohit,” showing their support for the former captain, Rohit Sharma, who was replaced by Pandya after a trade before the auction last year. The fans’ discontent was evident as the team’s social media following decreased after Rohit was removed as captain.
Sanjay Manjrekar asked Wankhede crowd to behave
Pandya seemed surprised by the cold reception from the home crowd. This wasn’t the first time he faced such hostility. In Mumbai’s first match of the IPL 2024 season against Gujarat, Pandya was booed by the Ahmedabad crowd, and there were unfortunate incidents of casteist slurs directed at him. Similarly, in Hyderabad, Pandya didn’t receive a warm welcome when Mumbai played against the SunRisers.
This was an unprecedented moment in IPL history, where the home team captain was booed by the crowd. Unfortunately for Pandya, luck wasn’t on his side at the toss either, as Sanju Samson, the Rajasthan captain, won the toss and chose to bat, giving his team an early advantage.
In an effort to change their fortunes, Mumbai made a couple of changes to their playing XI. They brought in domestic pace bowler Akash Madhwal, replacing spinner Shams Mulani. Additionally, they included Dewald Brevis, a young talent from South Africa, as their Impact Player.
Mumbai is hoping for a turnaround in their performance to alleviate the pressure on Pandya, who hasn’t been in top form since returning to the team, despite being five-time champions.
