"Hardik Pandya will be booed louder in Mumbai" - Manoj Tiwary on MI captain's potential reception at the Wankhede Stadium

Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary feels that new Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya will be booed louder when he enters the field at the franchise's home ground - the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Hardik Pandya, who was leading the five-time winners for the very first time in the IPL after replacing the highly successful Rohit Sharma against his former team Gujarat Titans, was booed by the Ahmedabad crowd on Sunday, March 24.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be a forgettable evening for the 30-year-old all-rounder as he was targetted by the fans throughout the game.

Speaking to the PTI videos in an interview, Manoj Tiwary predicted the atmosphere at the Wankhede Stadium will be hostile when Hardik Pandya walks out for the toss.

"You have to see how he gets welcomed here in Mumbai because I think he is going to get booed a bit louder here... Because as a fan, a Mumbai fan or a Rohit Sharma fan, nobody expected that captaincy will be given to Hardik," he said.

"Despite Rohit giving five trophies to Mumbai Indians, he has to lose the captaincy" - Manoj Tiwary

The former Kolkata Knight Riders star, who was a part of their victorious 2012 IPL squad, also said he didn't know why Rohit Sharma lost his captaincy despite winning five IPL titles for Mumbai. He said:

"And despite Rohit giving five trophies to Mumbai Indians, he has to lose the captaincy. I don’t know what are the reasons but I think it has not gone down well with the fans. And that is the reaction which you see on the field."

The 38-year-old, who is currently serving as the Sports Minister of West Bengal, also heaped praise on Hardik Pandya's ability to handle fan backlash and asserted:

"Knowing him, whatever I have been observing of late through television, that despite getting booed, he kept his calm, he kept his nerve, which is the sign of a good temperament."

Stressing the importance of Hardik Pandya maintaining his focus on performing well for the team with the 2024 Men's ICC T20 World Cup nearing, Manoj Tiwary further went on to add:

"I believe even if he was not booed, he has to perform well to get into the Indian team to play the World Cup. Because it is important for all the players to perform well and be fit as well to be available for selection. And him being the number one all-rounder... obviously, he has to be in form and to be in form he has to perform."

Next up, the Mumbai Indians will face the Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad side at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, March 27. The Men in Blue's first home fixture of this season will take place on Monday, April 1, against the Rajasthan Royals.