WATCH: “Someone had to say it”- Sanjay Manjrekar requests Wankhede crowd to ‘BEHAVE’ as they boo Hardik Pandya, fans react  

Hardik Pandya did not get the warm reception he hoped from his first match as MI captain at the Wankhede.

WATCH: “Someone had to say it”- Sanjay Manjrekar requests Wankhede crowd to ‘BEHAVE’ as they boo Hardik Pandya, fans react  

Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (Images via ESPNcricinfo, X)

Hardik Pandya is currently the most hated figure amongst Mumbai Indian fans. Ever since he replaced Rohit Sharma as captain, MI fans have hurled abuses and hate at him every day. Even fans in the stadium have been booing him. 

Booed at the away matches against Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad, fans expected the same to happen at Wankhede, but it was worse. During the toss for their first match at the Wankhede, Sanjay Manjrekar asked for applause for Hardik Pandya. Instead, the crowd booed as loudly as they could.

YouTube video

Pandya kept smiling as he heard the boos, Manjrekar came in his defense as he requested the crowd to “behave”. The crowd didn’t stop unfortunately as they kept on booing. Even Rajasthan Royals captain, Sanju Samson, applauded Pandya as the crowd kept booing him. 

Fans have mixed reaction to Wankhede fans

Fans on social media had polarizing reactions after seeing Hardik Pandya being booed. They claimed Pandya deserved the hate and kept on calling him “Chapri” (showoff). Meanwhile fans were happy with Manjrekar defending the captain, including a MI fan page. 

Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya scored a counter-attacking 34 off 21 when MI were 20-4 (Image via IPL)

Check out their reactions: 

https://twitter.com/abhayysrivastav/status/1774792959189549435?s=20

Hardik Pandya lost the toss and was sent in to bat first by Sanju Samson. The top order struggled, as Trent Boult and Nandre Burger took the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Naman Dhir and Dewald Brevis. 

Captain Pandya played a valiant 34 off 21, which saw him hitting six boundaries. He got out trying to hit Yuzvendra Chahal for a six over long-on, but finding Rovman Powell instead.

In case you missed!