Mumbai Indians‘ recent announcement of Hardik Pandya as their captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season has stirred a wave of unexpected negative reactions among fans. AB de Villiers, the former South African cricketer, expressed his surprise at the backlash and urged supporters to embrace Pandya’s return to the franchise.
“To be fair to Hardik, he was also a Mumbai boy for a long time. He was always a Mumbai boy from the start of his IPL career. I find it quite strange that the reaction was pretty negative. I have been reading posts that said Mumbai Indians’ social platform lost like 1 million followers, and people are upset,” shared de Villiers on his YouTube channel.
The announcement, accompanied by the loss of 400,000 followers on Mumbai Indians’ Twitter account within an hour, reflected the unexpected dissatisfaction among fans. Pandya, who returned to Mumbai Indians after spending two seasons with Gujarat Titans, faced criticism despite his successful stint with the latter, winning the player of the match in the 2022 IPL final.
De Villiers, known for his astute cricket analysis, suggested a positive outlook, emphasizing Pandya’s growth and experience. “You should be happy about him coming back. I know he played two IPL seasons at the Gujarat Titans and won a trophy. They made the final in another. And now he wants to come back as a more experienced player, a more experienced captain,” he said.
The legendary batter concluded by encouraging fans to support Pandya’s journey with Mumbai Indians, expressing confidence that lifting a trophy would likely alleviate any concerns.
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