Australian legend Adam Gilchrist took a swipe at Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya amid a fan backlash following his appointment as the franchise's leader in place of Rohit Sharma ahead of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“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,” Adam Gilchrist, the three-time World Cup winner, told the Club Prairie Fire podcast. 

Adam Gilchrist's remarks in support of Rohit Sharma and against Hardik Pandya come in the wake of Mumbai Indians' poor start to their campaign in IPL 2024. Under Hardik Pandya's captaincy, the former five-time champions have lost all their three matches in the prestigious event this year. 

 

Previously, ex-India batter Manoj Tiwary opined that the management of the Mumbai Indians could sack Hardik Pandya midway through the tournament and reappoint Rohit Sharma as skipper if results continued to desert the side.

“It can be a clue that he is under pressure. if someone is not bowling after opening the bowling for the past three matches and that too on a pitch where the ball was swinging. There was swing in the first innings and even Mumbai Indians bowlers including (Jasprit) Bumrah produced a lot of swing. Hardik's ball would have swung as well but the welcome that he got in Mumbai put him under pressure,” Manoj Tiwari told Cricbuzz.

 

“I want to see something big – I have this feeling somewhere that during this break, MI may hand the captaincy back to Rohit. It is a huge call because as much as I understand the franchises and owners, they do not hesitate in taking these decisions. You started it when you took the captaincy away from Rohit and gave it to Hardik. Changing a five-time champion captain is a huge call,” he added. 

 

“The team has no points on the board and the captaincy has also been all over the place. Not like the captaincy has been very good and they have been unlucky. There have been mistakes when it comes to captaincy,” Manoj Tiwary suggested. 

During the current edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Hardik Pandya has faced a severe backlash from the fans, with the 30-year-old cricketer being jeered on by the spectators in the three matches he has captained the Mumbai Indians in the tournament. 

 

The principal factor behind Hardik Pandya's booing has been his appointment as Mumbai Indians skipper after replacing the highly decorated Rohit Sharma, who led the team for a decade.

 

It is worth noting that while Rohit Sharma has been the most successful Mumbai Indians leader ever, he will be 37 later this month, and Hardik Pandya's appointment as the franchise's skipper was made looking at the future.

 

After all, Hardik Pandya had an extremely successful captaincy stint with Gujarat Titans, leading them to the IPL title in the franchise's maiden year in the elite league in 2022. He followed it up with another successful run in the 2023 IPL, where Gujarat Titans topped the table before losing to eventual champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final.

 

Furthermore, Hardik Pandya is no stranger to Mumbai Indians, he was an important cog in the team's wheel for years – having made his IPL debut for the side in 2015.

 

He had an immediate and telling impact on the franchise's performance in the tournament, having helped them win the title during his debut year, which was followed by trophy-laden runs in 2017, 2019, and 2020.

 

But former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri, who has spent considerable time with Hardik Pandya during his stint as the coach of the national side, feels that much of Hardik Pandya's mistreatment by the supporters of the Mumbai Indians is due to the franchise's top management, including its owners – the Ambanis. 

 

According to him, the Ambanis and head coach Mark Boucher, have failed to communicate their stance regarding the captaincy change with the public, which has not helped the all-rounder in any way whatsoever.