Hardik Pandya first heard them in Ahmedabad on March 24, in the opening week of the 2024 Indian Premier League. The boos that rang out in the massive Narendra Modi Stadium were understandable, of course. Pandya, the title-winning former captain of the Gujarat Titans, had returned, but as leader of his first IPL franchise, Mumbai Indians.
It was surprising, however, that protests continued – four days later – in Hyderabad. The stadium in the southern Indian city was neutral, with no aggrieved Gujarat fans in sight. But maybe it was just an anomaly, a lingering hangover.
The Wankhede Stadium would certainly have been safer territory as the home of the Mumbai Indians and their loyal fans, who would certainly have rallied behind their team and their young captain against the visiting Rajasthan Royals. However, when Pandya joined Sanju Samson in the middle for the toss, there was no doubt – the fans were booing their own captain.
It wasn’t long before Pandya was in the middle again, this time to rescue his team’s 20-4 batting collapse in less than four overs. He scored more runs than any of his teammates, but Rajasthan defeated Mumbai by six wickets. It was the third consecutive defeat for the five-time champion and not the last of the season, where they did very poorly and finished last. The hunt for Pandya was also just beginning.
The turnaround from IPL blues to India blues
Nearly two months later, the atmosphere at New York’s Nassau County International Cricket Stadium was tense. It’s always like this when India plays Pakistan. And this was a crucial Group A match in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
India had lost their way to 119 and Pakistan were on their way to victory, 73-2 in the 13th over and Fakhar Zaman starting his innings in ominous fashion.
Pandya bowled a clumsy bouncer, the kind that follows and traps the batsman. Fakhar attempted a throw but instead got his glove on the ball and India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, running back, completed the catch. When Pandya played another crucial blow to dismiss Shadab Khan in the 17th over, an overjoyed Indian captain Rohit Sharma threw his arms around the all-rounder and lifted him into the air. India won the match 16 balls later.
As far as overall performance is concerned, Hardik Pandya’s contributions in the T20 World Cup were instrumental in helping India march undefeated into their semi-final clash with England in Guyana on Thursday.
He scored the third-most runs for India – 116 in six innings – behind Rohit (191) and Pant (167). They reached a strike rate of 145, lower than Sharma’s 159.16 but higher than Pant’s 132.53. Of the 30 players who have scored the most runs, only two – Scotland’s Brandon McMullen (70) and England’s Harry Brook (120) – have higher averages than Pandya’s 58, thanks to his two unbeaten innings against Bangladesh and Australia.
And then, there’s his bowling. Pandya took eight wickets for India, behind only Arshdeep Singh (15) and Jasprit Bumrah (11).
For a third or fourth option pitcher batting in the sixth spot, the 30-year-old’s numbers are impressive, but his individual performance also stood out.
A valuable 2-14 with the ball helped keep the USA at bay in New York. As a lower-order finisher with the bat, Pandya’s stunning 27-ball-50 took India’s total to 196 against Bangladesh in the Super Eights and his 17-ball-27 against Australia was crucial in their 24-run victory.
Keeping the faith
Along the way, Pandya was cheered in stadiums by traveling fans and online by those watching from afar. It’s a stark contrast to the boos that greeted him at home during the IPL.
The hostile treatment, arising from Mumbai’s decision to install him as captain instead of Rohit and intensified by poor results, was unprecedented. This prompted former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to speak out in Pandya’s defense, while former player Sanjay Manjrekar warned fans to “behave themselves”.
Cricket experts speculated why the hostility erupted. In his initial seven-year stint with Mumbai, Pandya was part of a team that won four IPL titles, before leaving to captain the Gujarat Titans in 2022. He led them to victory in his first tournament in charge and the following year the Titans were runners-up to Chennai Super Kings.
But when Pandya was traded back to Mumbai ahead of IPL 2024 and named captain, many fans saw the move as a snub to Rohit, who captains India in all three formats at the international level. The matter was not explicitly addressed publicly by Pandya, Rohit or Mumbai coach Mark Boucher, deepening suspicions and fueling the rumour.
As Mumbai finished the season bottom of the table with four wins from 14 matches, with Pandya’s personal figures of 216 runs at 6pm and 11 wickets at an average of 34.18, it did little to appease the critics.
Still, the BCCI kept faith in the all-rounder, selecting him in India’s T20 World Cup squad under Rohit’s captaincy. It wasn’t difficult to understand why, despite his meager returns in the IPL.
‘Hardik being Hardik’
When Pandya is fit and firing, he does much more than balance the side. He can be a one-man wrecking ball with the bat in hand and crush the opponent into submission with the ball. India have rarely produced such powerful all-rounders, let alone such a destructive finisher.
Rohit underlined Pandya’s importance after a 50-match unbeaten run against Bangladesh.
“Him batting well puts us in a good position,” said the captain. “Hardik being Hardik we know what he is capable of. He is a very important player for us, if he continues to do that he will put us in good positions.”
As for his other discipline, India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey believes it was just a case of Pandya rediscovering his rhythm.
“I think you can see, in the last one or two matches he has played, if you compare the IPL and the pace now, as a player you can see he has the pace,” Mhambrey said. “It’s all about rhythm. And I think he picked up the pace.”
His returns in the T20 World Cup suggest he was able to ignore any form issues and put aside any emotional distress he may have suffered during the IPL. This does not mean that there will not be long-term effects from the blunt abuse done to him at home and we may never know the full extent of it.
Pandya has always been a flamboyant character on and off the field.
A rock star of modern Indian cricket, he has also been touted as a possible future captain of India, based on his two successful seasons with the Gujarat Titans.
Now, he is representing his country under the captain he replaced at Mumbai Indians. He caused the tsunami of antagonism at home by playing in front of both the fans who cheered him and those who jeered him, even in his home stadium.
If Pandya produces a crucial innings, a timely wicket, a spectacular catch or a crucial run-out that takes India to the final and perhaps their first T20 World Cup in 11 years, the scathing boos will be nothing more than receding echoes.
For a country obsessed with the game, it has been an excruciatingly long wait since the world title.
If the prodigal son returns home with a trophy in his hand, all will be forgiven and forgotten. After all, everyone loves a winner.
Never. To give. Above. pic.twitter.com/E48l8y3kkM
—hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) June 9, 2024
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
