India's ace pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, shared insights on how Hardik Pandya coped with the negative reception from Mumbai Indians (MI) fans during Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Hardik faced significant criticism and backlash when he took over the captaincy reins of MI from Rohit Sharma. Bumrah highlighted Hardik's mental resilience during this challenging period.
A section of MI fans were disappointed with Pandya being named captain over Rohit Sharma, who led Mumbai Indians to IPL victory for five times, making him the most successful captain in IPL history, sharing this record with MS Dhoni. Pandya, on several occasions faced boeing from the home crowd of MI at the Wankhede Stadium during IPL 2024 matches.
ALSO ON ABP Live | WAF vs SFU MCL 2024 Qualifier: Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell Help Washington Defeat San Francisco By 6 Wickets To Enter Finals
To make matters worse, MI did terribly at the IPL 2024 under Pandya’s captaincy as they became the first team to be knocked out of the tournament.
Jasprit Bumrah Highlights Importance Of 'Shutting The Door' To Negativity
Discussing the incident during an interview with the Indian Express Adda, Bumrah acknowledged that in a country where emotions run high, it's understandable for fans to be passionate and players to be affected by criticism.
"Sometimes we understand, we live in a country where emotion is the talking point. We understand fans get emotional. Players are emotional. It does affect that you are an Indian player, but your own fans are not speaking well. But you have to take it on your chin. How can you stop people? If you focus on yourself, you shut that door. It's not that simple. They are screaming. You can hear it,” said Bumrah.
Team Support & Family Unity Key In Hardik's Journey, Says Bumrah
Bumrah emphasised the importance of support from the team and family during tough times, stating that they did not encourage the negative incidents and stood by Hardik.
“But then your inner circle helps. We as a team do not encourage that. We as a team were with him. We were talking to him. His family will always be there. Certain things are beyond your control. That narrative also changed when we won the World Cup," said Bumrah on the Indian Express Adda.