Mumbai Indians’ skipper Hardik Pandya has been facing fans’ ire ever since he took the captaincy of the franchise and the booing became louder after he failed to secure a victory for the team in the first three matches of Indian Premier League.
Cricket experts, be it former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan or legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, all have criticized Pandya for taking wrong decisions on the field.
However, he received the support of former Indian cricket team player Robin Uthappa, who was a member of the 2007 T20 World Cup winning team.
Speaking about Pandya’s ordeal on The Ranveer Show, Uthappa said, “He is a guy who has got the calibre and potential to be an all-time great for Indian team. He was let go by the team which discovered him, he went to another franchise. After winning 3-4 titles with them, he left. He must have felt a little bad; that will be there. He went to GT, won a title and finished runners-up in another. Then the conversation began.”
ALSO READ: T20 World Cup | BCCI meeting over Hardik Pandya’s selection; here’s what Rohit, Dravid, Agarkar decided: Report
“The mocking, trolling, the memes about his fitness. You don’t think it hurts him? It hurts him. It hurts any human being. How many people actually know the reality of it? Hardik is dealing with mental health issues, for sure. We, as people, I understand, as Indians, we are emotional. But it is not right to impose this kind of treatment on any human being. It is unbecoming as a society for us to do that to someone and be okay with it. We should not be laughing along with it. We should not be forwarding these memes.”
Uthappa supported India’s finest all-rounder and said Pandya is right in securing his career.
“It’s our job, yes it’s passion too, but it’s what puts the food on the table for me. My job is on display for you to criticise. A corporate person’s job is not on television to criticise, or have an opinion about either. When that is the case, you have to exercise a certain amount of empathy and dignity to the other person to allow them to fail. One of the most beautiful things we did as a country is our expression to love, and our reaction to our Indian team after we lost the World Cup. That’s how we should be as a society, and as Indians,” said Uthappa.
MI in IPL 2024:
According to details, under Pandya’s captaincy MH have played 7 matches and won just three. They are at seventh spot in the IPL points table, with a NRR of -0.133.
MI will play with Rajasthan Royals on 22 April in Jaipur.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More
Less
Published: 20 Apr 2024, 07:32 PM IST