"Mumbai fan or Rohit Sharma fan..." - Manoj Tiwary's colossal warning to Hardik Pandya ahead of MI's home game

Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary warned Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya ahead of the franchise’s home game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He believes the that all-rounder will be booed louder there as fans didn’t expect him to take leadership of the team from Rohit Sharma.

Hardik Pandya’s second stint with the Mumbai Indians (MI) didn’t start on a good note. Not only did the team lose the game against Gujarat Titans, but the all-rounder wasn’t welcomed by the fans as the new captain of the franchise, replacing Rohit Sharma, who guided the team to 5 titles.

When Hardik Pandya came at the toss, the Ahmedabad Crowd booed him a lot and if this was not enough, he was also treated with “Rohit Rohit” chants. Apart from this, slammed him on social media for his poor tactics as he didn’t give a new ball to Jasprit Bumrah and also came to bat late.

With the ways things panned out in the first game, it’s fair to say that things won’t be easy for Hardik Pandya as the tournament progresses. Mumbai Indians fans surely aren’t happy with Rohit Sharma not being the captain and no doubt in the next game they will express their disappointment.

Manoj Tiwary feels Hardik Pandya will receive louder boos at the Wankhede Stadium. He said that Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians fans didn’t expect Rohit Sharma to be treated that way. He believes that with the way he was removed, the reaction from the fans is evident. Speaking to PTI, he explained:

“You have to see how he gets welcomed here in Mumbai because I think he is going to get booed a bit louder here…Because as a fan, a Mumbai fan or a Rohit Sharma fan, nobody expected that captaincy would be given to Hardik.

“And despite Rohit giving five trophies to Mumbai Indians, he has to lose the captaincy. I don’t know what are the reasons but I think it has not gone down well with the fans. And that is the reaction which you see on the field.”

Despite getting booed, he kept his calm, he kept his nerve – Manoj Tiwary on Hardik Pandya

Manoj Tiwary further was in awe of Hardik Pandya’s temperament, saying that even though he was booed, the all-rounder kept his calm and nerve. The former India cricketer further added that the MI skipper needs to perform well to get a place in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. He added:

“Knowing him, whatever I have been observing of late through television, that despite getting booed, he kept his calm, he kept his nerve, which is the sign of a good temperament. I believe that even if he was not booed, he has to perform well to get into the Indian team to play the World Cup.

“Because it is important for all the players to perform well and be fit as well to be available for selection. And him being the number one all-rounder…obviously he has to be in form and to be in form he has to perform.”

Hardik Pandya will be next seen in action when Mumbai Indians will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The match will take place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday (27th March).