Fans have not been kind to Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya during the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Hardik, who will captain MI for the first time in IPL 2024, has been booed by the crowd in the team’s first two matches so far. The 30-year-old received a hostile reception on his return to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with Gujarat Titans fans booing him when he bowled. MI has lost two matches so far, first against GT and then against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

For the uninitiated, fans were not happy with Hardik replacing Rohit as MI captain as he was traded from GT ahead of the IPL 2024 player auction.

MI will take on Rajasthan Royals in their first home match of the season on Monday and there are reports of possible crowd riots at the Wankhede Stadium.

There are rumors that the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has started planning measures to crack down on fans targeting Hardik.

However, MCA denied this and said they will follow BCCI guidelines on crowd behaviour.

News 18 quoted a statement from the MCA as saying: “No instructions have been given for this specific match. Over the years, the BCCI has laid down a set of guidelines regarding spectator behavior and this is the process to be followed.”

While Hardik is in trouble, Ravichandran Ashwin has come out in strong support to the MI chief.

Ashwin was outspoken in blaming the prevailing atmosphere of “fan wars” and “movie culture” for the hostile treatment of Pandya by audiences and social media spaces ahead of the all-rounder’s replacement of Rohi ahead of IPL 2024 It started after Rohit Sharma became the captain of MI.

“Fan wars should not have taken such an ugly path. People should remember which country these players represent – our country. So, what deserves a cricketer to be booed? “I don’t understand. If you don’t like a player and boo a player, why would a team come out and clarify? ” Ashwin said while answering a question from a fan on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin also cited past examples of Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Gangu Legends like Sourav Ganguly put aside their egos by playing under the then much younger MS Dhoni.

“Sourav Ganguly played under Sachin Tendulkar and vice versa. Both men were captained by Rahul Dravid All three played under Anil Kumble and all three played under Dhoni.

“These players were senior cricket players when they were under Dhoni. Dhoni also played under Virat (Kohli),” he said.

(with PTI input)