Former England captain Michael Vaughan was surprised at the Indian crowds booing Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya so
far in IPL 2024. However, Hardik was traded from Gujarat Titans (GT) to MI during the off-season and was appointed captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. But the move didn’t go down well with MI fans as Hardik has been consistently getting booed in their first three games. Moreover, MI lost consecutive games as well.

“I have never seen the Indian crowd boo one of their own. It’s remarkable. The booing… I have to say, the Indian crowd just loves cricket. I have never heard them boo. I’ve certainly never heard them boo one of their own. I get the booing when he played at (Ahmedabad) against the Gujarat Titans. He’s left them and joined Mumbai. He took them to a title. So I get that in a pantomime kind of way,” said Vaughan.

He further added, “But for him to go to Hyderabad and get booed and then come to Wankhede and get booed by the Mumbai Indians fans while he is playing for them, I’m staggered by it. The big debate is whether Rohit Sharma will end up back as captain. That has caused a lot of drama here in India.”

Meanwhile, former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist feels the crowd reception for Hardik Pandya shows the fanbase Rohit Sharma enjoys as well.

“It shows you the status that Rohit Sharma has in the game there. The mysterious manner with which it all played out initially, the pace with which it happened, everyone was stunned with Mumbai getting Hardik Pandya away from Gujarat and then Rohit relinquishing captaincy. It’s an odd one. But this is the nature of the beast in the IPL. The tribalism and intensity within fan bases. It’s hard to replicate anywhere else with that level of intensity,” said Gilchrist.