Australian batter Steven Smith has advised Hardik Pandya to ‘block out the noise’ from the fans in IPL 2024 as they are ‘irrelevant’. However, the veteran has admitted that it’s subjective how people respond to such trolls and come out of it as well. With Hardik replacing Rohit Sharma as the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain ahead of IPL 2024, he faced a backlash as well.

Speaking on ESPN Crcinfo’s Time Out, Smith said, “I’d try and just say, to block it out, it’s all irrelevant. No one outside knows what you are going through. No one [from outside] is in that change room. Personally, for me, it doesn’t bother me. I don’t care. I don’t pay any attention. You know it’s all white noise, but certainly players do hear things and everyone’s entitled to their own emotions and how they respond to those.”

He again stated, “So is it affecting him? Maybe. It’s possible. He probably hasn’t experienced that before in, in any walk of life. So it’s natural, I suppose, and particularly being in India and a star Indian player, to be in that position where some fans are booing you, it’s certainly something he wouldn’t have experienced.”

However, Hardik Pandya is yet to shine with the bat as well. He had the chance to win the game for Mumbai against the Gujarat Titans but fell for 11 off four deliveries. The high-scoring contest against the SunRisers Hyderabad also saw him got out for 24 off 20 balls.

“Hardik is in the middle of a challenging time, losing the first two games their IPL season. It’s a big one for him. He’s filling big shoes with Rohit Sharma, who’s been the most successful captain [with Dhoni] in IPL history, lifting five titles, and it hasn’t started well for him. “So he’s under a little bit of pressure at the moment and it’ll be interesting to see what the reception’s like in their first home game at Wankhede in a couple of days,” Steve Smith concluded.