Hardik Pandya on Tuesday broke his silence amid the criticism on his captaincy and the boos from the spectators after Mumbai Indians recorded a disastrous start to the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), losing all their first three matches. Hardik’s comment came after Mumbai lost their first game at home this season, against Rajasthan Royals by six wickets to languish to the bottom of the points table.
Mumbai kicked off their campaign against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, which marked the homecoming for Hardik for the first time since he was traded for the 2022 champion side to MI last November. The five-time winners lost by six runs in the thriller at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
In their second game, Mumbai were smashed for a record 277 runs by Sunrisers Hyderabad, where three batters – Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen notched up their respective fifties. The visitors at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium did threaten to chase down the target, but the disciplined bowling from the SRH attack in the death overs, Mumbai were restricted to 246 for five.
On Monday, in Mumbai’s first game at home, the hosts put on a horrid batting show before Riyan Parag single-handedly chased down the target with his unbeaten 54 as Rajasthan wrapped up the match with 27 balls to spare.
While Hardik’s captaincy, pertaining to the team combination and the use of Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay, has been criticised, the all-rounder has been subject to harsh treatment from the crowd at all the three venues MI played. Making their voices heard on the shocking decision made by the franchise, of removing Rohit Sharma from captaincy last December, Hardik was jeered at and booed in each of the three matches.
Amid the criticism, Hardik broke his silence on X, previously known as Twitter, saying: “If there’s one thing you should know about this team, we never give up. We’ll keep fighting, we’ll keep going.”
Despite what the critics may say, this is still not Mumbai’s worst start to an IPL season. Back in 2015, under Rohit, MI lost all their first four matches, but bounced back strongly to win the title.
What next for Mumbai Indians?
Mumbai Indians will next face Delhi Capitals at home on Sunday, April 7.
