Hardik Pandya's supporters hit back at ex-skipper Ajay Jadeja following his controversial remarks on the mercurial India all-rounder. 

 

Former India batter Ajay Jadeja brutally trolled him, taking a jibe at his frequent injuries that keep him out of the game for long periods.

 

Hardik Pandya featured in only four matches of India's failed Cricket World Cup campaign before sustaining an ankle injury that ruled him out of the quadrennial tournament.

 

India lost the final to Australia by six wickets after remaining undefeated en route to the title clash against the Kangaroos.

 

Since his freak October 19 injury, Hardik Pandya has been recovering at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, with no date yet announced for his return.

 

In his absence, Suryakumar Yadav has been captaining the Indian cricket team in the T20I format.

 

After leading India to a 4-1 victory in the five-match T20I series earlier this month, Suryakumar Yadav will now be the skipper in South Africa.

 

Against this backdrop, Ajay Jadeja mocked Hardik Pandya, stating that the mercurial all-rounder suffers from injuries regularly.

 

“You get a fast-bowling all-rounder very rarely,” a sports host told Ajay Jadeja during a cricket show.

 

To this, Ajay Jadeja gave a funny reply.

 

“You didn't get the meaning. He is a very ‘rare' talent, he is rarely seen on the ground. Hai toh rare waise. (He is indeed rare.)”

 

However, Ajay Jadeja's statement did not go well with Hardik Pandya's admirers, who fired back at him by digging into his past.

 

During the early 2000s, Ajay Jadeja was handed a five-year ban by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for his involvement in match-fixing under the captaincy of Mohammad Azharuddin. 

 

Hardik Pandya's supporters reminded Ajay Jadeja of his role in the dark chapter of Indian cricket, telling him at least the Gujarat-born all-rounder does not fix matches like he did during his career.

Earlier, Hardik Pandya's move back to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ignited a flurry of reactions, including a crazy one from his India teammate Ravichandran Ashwin.

 

Ravichandran Ashwin described Hardik Pandya's return to Mumbai Indians in a unique way.

 

“After Hardik, they have landed gold. They have got an Indian T20 Team captain, who has won an IPL and became runner-up in the last two years in which he was away. It's like calling up your son and telling him, ‘Hey son, here's some money go live the world, man. Go and get an MBA degree',” Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

 

“So he basically went to GT, became a leader, got an MBA degree and came back home. It's crazy man. He has won a title and become a runner-up, and he became a titlist by the margin of one ball, here and there,” Ravichandran Ashwin elaborated.

 

Interestingly, speculation was rife that the Team India all-rounder would replace Rohit Sharma as skipper of five-time champions Mumbai Indians.

 

Hardik Pandya became GT's captain in their maiden IPL season in 2022, leading the Ahmedabad-based franchise to the title in the elite T20 competition.

 

During IPL 2023, Hardik Pandya's team topped the points table during the group stage before making it to the final. However, the Gujarat Titans failed to lift their second successive IPL trophy after losing to MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in the title clash.

 

Following his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in 2015, Hardik Pandya played for the side for seven consecutive seasons before parting ways to join Gujarat Titans during the 2022 season.

During his seven-year stint with Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya was a crucial link in the Rohit Sharma-led team's title-winning campaigns in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.

 

Also, Ravichandran Ashwin underlined that even if Hardik Pandya is made Mumbai Indians skipper, replacing Rohit Sharma at the helm of affairs at the five-time IPL champions, there shouldn't be a problem, considering the Nagpur-born cricketer does not have ego.

“Rohit Sharma does not have much ego. He is a great human being and a sound leader. He will handle it with grace (if Pandya is made MI leader),” Ravichandran Ashwin told former cricketer S. Badrinath in a YouTube interaction.

 

“In the history of IPL, apart from the top four to five teams, all have released players. Mumbai and CSK have never done it. I know Hardik to an extent. I see this move as a milestone achievement,” he stressed.

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers shared similar sentiments.

“I mean Rohit is the captain, we know he loves leading from the front. Will he step down and let Hardik lead, because he has got the big weight of Team India and captaining there,” AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

 

“I have a funny feeling Rohit is going to let him (Hardik) captain. Rohit carries a lot of pressure of captaining Team India. Maybe that is going to be the move,” he opined.