PBKS vs MI: Watch- Hardik Pandya gets belt treatment from Akash Madhwal, Rohit Sharma emerges as youth icon

Mumbai Indians' uncapped Indian pacer Akash Madhwal, who came in as the Impact player last night during their close victory against Punjab Kings, was seen ignoring MI skipper Hardik Pandya.

This incident took place mid-way through the 2nd innings when Madhwal was bowling the final over of the match in front of Kagiso Rabada. Madhwal, instead of listening to Pandya, had more focus on the instructions that former captain Rohit Sharma was given. 

This speaks volumes about the cracks inside the Mumbai Indians team, which is currently struggling to win matches against tough opposition. And how can they even beat when the bowlers and the captain are not on the same page?

Last night was just another example of it. While Akash Madhwal was being taken to the cleaners last night, having conceded 14 runs each in his first two overs, Hardik Pandya entrusted him to bowl the final over. 

What exactly happened between Akash Madhwal, Rohit Sharma, and Hardik Pandya?

Because Akash Madhwal was having a tough day at the office, he wasn't too sure about the fielding setup in the final over of the match. Madhwal and Hardik Pandya were seen discussing the field set up for the over but they had some disagreement over it.

That's when Rohit Sharma walked in and Madhwal quickly turned his attention from Pandya to the 5-time IPL winning captain. 

Akash Madhwal was then seen pointing towards the 3rd man region while uttering a few words. Pandya too pointed his finger towards that position but Madhwal was still keen on Rohit Sharma's suggestions.

The latter was then indicating to Madhwal that he should be the one to decide where he wants to bowl and then set the field accordingly. In the last frame of the viral video, the entire situation got even more tricky.

While Rohit Sharma was asking Akash Madhwal to have a fielder at 3rd man and the positions adjacent to it, Hardik Pandya had his finger pointed out towards long-off.

Madhwal seemed to have no interest in Pandya's advice and instead, he was seen pulling the shirt of Rohit to say something more.

The Hindi commentators while commenting on that situation, tried to highlight the gap there is between MI players and skipper Hardik Pandya.

Nikhil Chopra, who was present in the com box at that time, was narrating the same thing that Rohit is saying something and then Hardik is saying something else to Akash Madhwal. But regardless of the field, Madhwal's first ball saw Kagiso Rabada get run out eventually with Punjab Kings losing by 9 runs.

My guy, Madhwal was trying his best not to look at Hardik 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/DlWlHj2BV7

— ab (rohit's version) (@ydisskolaveridi) April 18, 2024

How have the fans reacted to Akash Madhwal ignoring Hardik Pandya?  

Fans have given a lot of reactions to this incident and most of them are just trolling the way Hardik Pandya got ignored by Akash Madhwal. While one fan wrote, "Bro couldn't take no more", another one remarked "Brother Madhwal also knows that the boss of the Indian team is still Rohit. IPL, PPL, BBL will keep coming and going."