Hardik Pandya has been subjected to vehement criticism on social media after he replaced Rohit Sharma as the skipper of Mumbai Indians (MI) in Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 2024 edition. MI’s defeat in the first two matches this season has exacerbated the heat Hardik Pandya is facing from the fans. As if this was not enough, a new video has been breaking the internet since Wednesday. The video shows Pandya purportedly pushing former MI pacer Lasith Malinga after the MI vs SRH match.
IPL 2024:
The video stirred backlash on social media platforms against the new MI skipper. The users slammed what they termed ‘s habitual disrespect for seniors, inadvertently linking it to the perceived ill treatment of Rohit Sharma in the IPL franchise.
In the video, Lasith Malinga can be seen moving towards Hardik Pandya to hug him, but the seemed more eager to move ahead and shake hands with Sunrisers Hyderabad players.
The fresh video came after Hardik Pandya faced the ire of fans for disrespecting Malinga, who was seen leaving his seat when the MI skipper came. In the earlier video, Lasith Malinga can be seen leaving his seat at the dugout, while a padded-up Pandya approached batting coach Kieron Pollard, who was sitting next to the former. The fans expressed displeasure at the way Pandya didn’t even flinch before occupying his bowling coach’s seat.
Hardik Pandya and social media backlash
The backlash comes amid mounting criticism of Hardik Pandya by fans since his return to Mumbai Indians as the captain replacing –who led Mumbai to five championship titles since 2014. MI’s decision to hand over captaincy to Pandya triggered a social media backlash, with most MI fans venting their ire on Pandya.
Pandya was also booed at when he played the match against his previous franchise, Gujarat Titans (GT). Pandya’s instructions to former skipper Rohit Sharma during the first match, and the latter’s fielding position near the boundary lines, also did not go down well with angry fans.
