Hardik Pandya is not enjoying his second stint with Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. After his return from Gujarat Titans and getting the captain’s armband, he is facing backlash from the fans.
Even some of the franchise’s senior players are not ready to welcome him as their skipper, as they have been loyal to Rohit Sharma. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah were also ignored for the leadership post, which didn’t go down well with the cricketers.
In one of the videos from the MI vs SRH match in IPL 2024, Pandya seems to be disrespecting Lasith Malinga, who is the bowling coach of the franchise. The former Sri Lanka player, who played for the five-time champions for years, agreed to coach the team after leaving Rajasthan Royals.
The clip shows Hardik’s strange behaviour towards the legendary bowler.
Mumbai have lost two consecutive games in the 17th season, with Hardik playing a role in their defeats. His captaincy moves have been ordinary, and holding back Jasprit Bumrah has caused a lot of problems for the team. He batted at No.7 in the first game against Gujarat Titans and allowed the match to drift out of the hands of Mumbai.
In the recent game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he took 20 balls to score 24 runs while chasing 277.