Veteran India pacer Jasprit Bumrah opened up about trying to help India allrounder Hardik Pandya overcome the negative receptions from the fans during the 2024 IPL season as well. Notably, Hardik took over the captaincy of the Mumbai Indians (MI) from long-time captain Rohit Sharma before IPL 2024 after returning from the Gujarat Titans (GT) as well. However, the move didn’t go down well with fans and he had to face criticism from fans around the country during the IPL season. Moreover, he also struggled to contribute with bat and ball.

Speaking at the Indian Express Adda, Jasprit Bumrah said, “Sometimes we understand, we live in a country where emotion is the talking point. We understand fans gets emotional. Players are emotional. It does affect that you are an Indian player, but your fans are not speaking well. But you have to take it on your chin. It’s not that simple. They are screaming. You can hear it. But then your inner circle helps. We as a team were with him, talking to him. His family will always be there. That narrative also changed when we won the World Cup.”

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Led by Hardik Pandya, Mumbai Indians finished at the bottom of the points table with only four wins in 14 matches as well. He averaged a dismal 18 with the bat and over 35 with the ball at an economy rate of almost 11 as well. Jasprit Bumrah also opened up on how ups and downs, including positive and negative fan reactions, are part of a sportsman’s journey as well.

“You cannot take it seriously. Now that people are singing praises, it is not the be all or end all. When we lose a game, the narrative can change again. Because we play a sport so popular, every sportsman will go through all this. The best players in the world face all these things. It’s a part of a sportsman’s journey. We live a great life. We have good things in our sport,” Jasprit Bumrah concluded.