Hardik Pandya faced ire of fans for replacing Rohit Sharma as MI captain and the team finishing 10th.
While Hardik Pandya’s return to the MI fold was celebrated by the fans, they soon turned on the all-rounder as Pandya was named MI captain, ending Rohit Sharma’s 10-year reign in which he won 5 IPL titles for the team.
Pandya was subjected to intense scrutiny and frequent booing from fans, particularly at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Indians' home ground. His poor performance with the bat and the ball and equally dismal outing for MI in the season, where they finished 10th, proved to be a disastrous MI captaincy debut for Hardik Pandya.
Jasprit Bumrah shared his thoughts on the challenges faced by MI captain Hardik Pandya and stressed the importance of blocking out negative thoughts, a strategy Pandya employed during the challenging period.
"We understand that we live in a country where emotion is the talking point. It's an emotion-driven country. We understand that fans do get emotional, and players are also emotional. It's not that simple saying 'Just don't focus on it.' They're screaming, and you can hear it, but then, the inner circle helps you. We, as a team, don't encourage that, we don't promote that, we don't think that is warranted,” Bumrah told Indian Express.
Bumrah highlighted the significance of team support and family during such times.
"Now, the world can think what they want to. We as a team were talking to him, if he needed support, his family would always be there. Certain things are beyond your control. If it happens, it happens,” the pacer added.
The Indian pacer also saw a significant shift in the popular image of Pandya following his impressive performances in the T20 World Cup. He did, however, warn that a single loss might cause the narrative to shift dramatically.
"You understand it now because we play a sport that is so popular, every sportsman will go through these things. In football, you see fans booing the best players in the world. This is a part of the sportsman's journey, things will happen that are not great, and sometimes, it might not be fair also, but it is the way it is.
We have had a great life, we're doing good things in our sport and for ourselves. All these challenges will come, but it will be better if you take it in the right manner,” Bumrah concluded.