The fans’ war over Mumbai Indians (MI) captaincy saga took an ugly turn on Monday evening after Hardik Pandya’s name was called out for the toss of the 14th IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, the MI skipper was heavily booed by the fans at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai which led to Sanjay Manjrekar, who was conducting the toss, to call for the crowd to ‘behave.’
The crowd at Wankhede expressed its reservations about Pandya, following his ascension to the captaincy throne in his homecoming game.
“Two captains with me – Hardik Pandya, captain of the Mumbai Indians, a big round of applause, ladies and gentlemen,” Manjrekar said before the toss. But instead of receiving a traditional welcome at the home ground, the Mumbai Indian’s skipper was booed by the fans and was treated like an away team player. The crowd also chanted the name of former skipper Rohit Sharma loudly as well. With Pandya receiving a hostile reception from MI fans at home ground, Manjrekar advised the crowd. “Behave,” Manjrekar said forcefully.
The unfazed MI skipper smiles after Manjrekar came out in his strong support at the toss. Pandya did his bit at the toss, confirmed the names of the playing XI against the 2008 champions and returned to the dressing room as the Rajasthan Royals won the toss and decided to field first.
“We were planning to bowl first. It’s quite exciting to be a part of this game. We always look forward to the future and need to follow the process. Looking forward to playing a brand of cricket everyone enjoys. Playing the same team,” Hardik said after RR skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bowl first in MI’s backyard.
Last week, Pandya was loudly booed when he arrived to bowl for Mumbai Indians in their IPL 2024 opener against his former franchise—Gujarat Titans
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Published: 01 Apr 2024, 08:52 PM IST