Hardik Pandya's captaincy's struggles in IPL 2024 has sharply coincided with that of Mumbai Indians' in the two matches that the franchises have participated in thus far. With the Baroda-born cricketer facing backlash from the spectators in the two matches, he has captained in, it maybe time for Rohit Sharma to intervene and stop it, similar to Allan Lamb's gesture for Sunil Gavaskar in Kolkata.
The incident involving Allan Lamb and Sunil Gavaskar dates back to the Test match in 1985 between India and England. With ace all-rounder Kapil Dev dropped from the team for the very first time, Gavaskar stepped in as captain, but the crowd clearly was not happy. A few spectators also carried a banner, which said, 'We want Kapil, Gavaskar go back'. Amid this, when Allan Lamb walked out to bat, he walked with his arm on Gavaskar's shoulder and asked the crowd to stop booing the opening batter.
With Rohit Sharma garnering a strong presence among the fans after guiding the franchise to 5 titles, a similar act will not only increase his respect, but can also increase Hardik's confidence moving forward.
Hardik Pandya uplifts his teammates with rousing speech in the dressing room:
Following a 31-run loss to the SunRisers Hyderabad in a high-scoring contest, the 30-year-old praised his teammates for expressing willingness to send down overs despite unforgiving bowling conditions. Hardik said in a video published by the franchise's social media handle:
"The toughest soldiers get the toughest test and we are the toughest team in the competition. Anyone who could have come even close to where we reached as a batting group are us. Something that I am really proud of is our bowlers. Even when the day was tough, I didn't see anyone running away. Everyone wanted the ball in their hands, I think that's a good sight. Let's make sure we help each other throughout, whatever happens, worst, bad or good, we will manage it together. And we will be together."
Mumbai Indians will next face the Rajasthan Royals on April 1st at the Wankhede Stadium.
