Not Rohit Sharma! Matthew Hayden blames MI owners for Hardik Pandya getting booed by fans

Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden discussed the Mumbai Indians' captaincy transition strategy ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. Matthew Hayden highlighted a significant flaw in the franchise's approach to appointing Hardik Pandya as captain.

Hardik Pandya concluded his two-year tenure with the Gujarat Titans (GT) in November last year. Upon his return to the Mumbai Indians, the all-rounder assumed the captaincy, replacing Rohit Sharma, who had led the team to record-equalling five titles in the tournament.

Fans of the Mumbai Indians expressed their disapproval of the decision, demonstrating their discontent by booing Hardik Pandya at multiple IPL 2024 matches, including at the Wankhede Stadium. The situation escalated to the point where even Rohit Sharma intervened, urging the fans to remain calm during the match against the Rajasthan Royals.

Ensure That Rohit Sharma Is On Board - Matthew Hayden

Speaking to Star Sports, Matthew Hayden empathized with the Mumbai Indians' fans, acknowledging their unwavering support for Rohit Sharma. He suggested better communication between the franchise and fans through social media to resolve their concerns effectively.

“See the fans are the biggest stake holders in this and they often don't have the politics, the insights, but they want to understand this, they love Rohit Sharma. There's going to be no getting around that. So potentially how it could have been handled little bit differently is to ensure that Rohit is on board with it, the franchise is communicating it out to the fans, through social media platforms that announce a lot of these things and they actually carry a lot of weight,” Hayden said.

The all-rounder made his debut for the Mumbai-based franchise in the IPL 2015 and remained with the team until the 2021 season. However, the franchise opted not to retain him ahead of the 2022 auction due to the restriction allowing only four players to be retained from the squad.

After being released by the Mumbai Indians, Pandya joined the Gujarat Titans and successfully led them through their debut season in the Indian Premier League in 2022. In the following season, he guided the team to the finals, narrowly losing to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Some Concerns Around Hardik Pandya's Leadership - Matthew Hayden

Matthew Hayden highlighted the 2022 scenario at CSK when their succession plan with Ravindra Jadeja faltered. However, Hayden cautioned against swiftly evaluating Hardik Pandya after just three losses, given MI's tendency for sluggish starts.

"You got to have a succession plan and you've seen the same thing with CSK last season didn't we, when Jaddu came into captaincy and it didn't quite work for them so maybe there is an opportunity to reassess, there are some concerns in and around Hardik's leadership but I think it's grossly unfair to look at the start of the season which is notoriously slow for the Mumbai Indians, and judge one of the iconic cricketers in India and will be for a long time to come as well, subject to his own fitness which is always vulnerable being an all-rounder as he is."

The Mumbai-based team began their campaign with a narrow 6-run defeat in their opener in Ahmedabad. Subsequently, they suffered losses by 31 runs and six wickets in their next two matches. They currently sit at the bottom of the table, yet to secure a victory.

The Hardik Pandya-led team will face the Delhi Capitals (DC) in their next match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 7.

Also read: "Rohit Sharma has to support Hardik Pandya openly or else.."- Former Australian captain warns Mumbai Indians