Former Indian National Cricket Team and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Virat Kohli finally intervened to stop spectators from booing newly appointed Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya, who took over leadership of Rohit’s franchise. Sharma ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Kohli-starrer Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) took on Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 25th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Thursday, April 11 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai .
Indian star Pandya has faced a strong backlash from fans ever since he took over from Rohit Sharma. The decision to trade Hardik from the Gujarat Titans (GT) and name him the new captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise did not go well with the fans.
Not just on social media, Hardik Pandya was also criticized by fans in stadiums. The all-rounder faced negative reactions at different venues and the loudest boos were heard when he played at their venue in Mumbai.
Hardik Pandya came under even more tremendous pressure when Mumbai Indians (MI) lost consecutive matches and once even Rohit Sharma had to ask the crowd to quiet down as they were attacking the all-rounder hard.
Meanwhile, during the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Wankhede, Hardik Pandya was applauded by the crowd and the sound of ‘Hardik, Hardik’ chants echoed throughout the venue.
The reason behind the sudden change in crowd behavior was Indian great Virat Kohli. Notably, when Hardik Pandya came out to bat, Kohli gestured to the crowd saying that the MI captain was an Indian cricketer first and asked them to cheer for the star all-rounder.
Watch: Virat Kohli wins hearts with beautiful gesture for Hardik Pandya
Virat Kohli tells crowd not to boo Hardik Pandya #RCBvsMIpic.twitter.com/Aa0yLVBrAn
– Sunil the cricketer (@1sInto2s) April 11, 2024
Virat Kohli asked fans to cheer for Hardik Pandya. Nobody, not even his own teammates, spoke out for him. What a man bhai ❤️ pic.twitter.com/GgH6IUtwzX
– ` (@chixxsays) April 11, 2024
In the end, Kohli ended up on the losing side of the match as Mumbai Indians (MI) completely demolished Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 7 wickets to win their second game of the season.
The way Ro and Kishan batted, giving the platform, it was important for us to end it early – Hardik Pandya
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Hardik Pandya expressed his joy over the victory. Hardik Pandya said:
“It’s always good to win. The way we’ve won is pretty impressive. The Impact player has given me the opportunity to use an extra pitcher if we need it. It also gives me a cushion.”
Hardik Pandya further praised his players (Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav) for helping Mumbai Indians (MI) register a crushing victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He elaborated:
“The way Ro and Kishan batted, giving the platform, it was important for us to finish it early. We didn’t talk about it. That’s the beauty of this team, the players know what to do. It was a blessing to have Bumrah by my side. “He does it over and over again. He practices a lot. The amount of experience and confidence he has is tremendous.”
“I told him when he scored the fifty that I welcomed him. I have also been captain of the rival against him, it is difficult to prepare the field for him. Whatever the situation requires, the last game I had to take some time, and this game The scenario was different.”
