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Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has come out in support of star all-rounder and Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya after the five-time IPL champions lost to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their IPL 2024 fixture in Lucknow on Tuesday, April 30.
Hardik's move back to MI and replacing Rohit Sharma as the captain hasn't gone down well with a large chunk of MI fans and they have expressed their disappointment through boos in the stadium as well. However, some have also resorted to personal trolling and using harmful slurs which Jaffer called out as unacceptable.
Wasim Jaffer took to X and claimed that while fans had the right to question Hardik Pandya's performances, they shouldn't cross the line with personal comments. He also backed Hardik to come good for India in the T20 World Cup in June.
"Criticise his performance as much as you want but it's extremely disappointing to see the constant personal trolling and attacks. Stay strong @hardikpandya7 next month you'll be playing crucial knocks in WC and the same people will be singing your praise. #LSGvMI #T20WorldCup," he wrote.
Hardik had yet another disappointing outing with the bat against LSG as he got dismissed for a golden duck. However, the all-rounder was brilliant with the ball as his figures of 2/26 from four overs kept Mumbai Indians in the game until the last couple of overs.
Sunil Gavaskar on Hardik Pandya's frame of mind
Former Indian legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is not worried by Hardik Pandya's IPL form as he believes the all-rounder will be in a different frame of mind for the Indian team.
Gavaskar understands the challenges that Hardik faced as MI captain and reckons the mindset will be a lot more positive for the Men in Blue.
"Playing for your country brings out something different in every player and Hardik Pandya will be a different player. He's had to face a lot of issues in this particular tournament (IPL), he's handled it quite well. And that's going to be a much more positive frame of mind than maybe what we have seen here in this tournament," he told Sports Today.
In 10 IPL 2023 matches so far, Hardik Pandya has scored just 197 runs and has picked up six wickets at an economy rate of 11. He has been named as the vice-captain of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2024.
