Star Australian player Steve Smith has advised Hardik Pandya to simply “block out” the constant jeers and boos that the new Mumbai Indians skipper has been receiving from the spectators at the IPL so far as they are “all irrelevant”. Hardik, who replaced five-time IPL-winning captain Rohit Sharma as skipper this season, had a dismal start to his captaincy as MI suffered back-to-back defeats.
On top of the two defeats, the former Gujarat Titans captain was booed by fans in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad – the venue of MI’s first two matches – as they were clearly unhappy with the manner in which Rohit was removed from the captaincy.
“I would try to say, to block it, it’s all irrelevant,” Smith, who faced abuse from fans around the world for his role in the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, told reporters. to ESPNcricinfo.
“Nobody outside knows what you’re going through. There’s nobody (outside) in that locker room.” Smith, who was called ‘cheat’ by fans during the 2019 ODI World Cup in England, believes all this abuse will come as a big surprise to Hardik as he gets it at home from his Indian fans.
“Personally, it doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t pay attention to it,” said Smith, who was forced to resign as captain of Rajasthan Royals in 2018 following the ball-tampering scandal.
“You know it’s all white noise, but players definitely hear things and everyone is entitled to their own emotions and how they react to them.
‘So does it affect him (Hardik)? Maybe. It is possible. He probably hasn’t experienced that before, at any stage of life.
“So it’s normal, especially when you’re in India and a star Indian player, to be in a position where some fans are booing you. He certainly wouldn’t have experienced that.”
Hardik had led Gujarat Titans to IPL title victory in their first season in 2022 after being released by Mumbai Indians.
However, last November he returned to Mumbai Indians in a cash transfer and was soon made captain, replacing Rohit, which did not go down well with the Indian captain’s fans.
“Hardik is in the middle of a challenging time, losing the first two matches of their IPL season. It’s a big one for him,” said Smith, who had replaced MS Dhoni as captain of the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017.
“He fills big shoes with Rohit Sharma, who has been the most successful captain (with Dhoni) in IPL history, winning five titles, and it hasn’t started well for him.”
MI will play Rajasthan Royals at home on April 1 and Smith will wait to see how Hardik is received by the local fans at the Wankhade Stadium.
“So he’s under a bit of pressure at the moment and it will be interesting to see what the reception will be like in a few days’ time in their first home game in Wankhede.
“We’ve heard a few boos on the ground, which… that’s disappointing from my side. But I’m intrigued to see what the reception is like in Mumbai. We know how big a star Rohit is and how much he is loved. in that stadium.”
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