3 times an Indian player was booed in the IPL ft. Hardik Pandya

Gujarat Titans beat Mumbai Indians by a narrow yet significant margin of six runs in the fifth match of the 2024 IPL at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 25.

One of the highlights of the game came when India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya came in for some harsh treatment from the Ahmedabad faithful and was booed.

The passionate crowd in Ahmedabad appeared upset that Pandya made the move back to his former franchise MI before the season after winning the IPL trophy in the Titans' inaugural season.

Commentator Kevin Pietersen appeared to be shocked on air that an Indian player had been treated so harshly in his own country. Interestingly, Pandya's is not the first instance that this has happened.

We look at three instances when an Indian player was booed in the IPL:

#1 Hardik Pandya

The reception that Pandya received from the crowd in Ahmedabad on Sunday was one that belied emotions and roused strong feelings among the players on the ground.

Driven by the belief that the all-rounder had betrayed their side (Gujarat Titans) for the promise of a more lucrative contract, the partisan crowd in the city gave it to him, booing him all the way.

The home team ended up winning the game comfortably when MI, who set just 169 runs to chase, lost the plot towards the end.

#2 Virat Kohli

It is hard to fathom that the darling of the nation, Virat Kohli could be on this list, but his is an interesting story going back to the 2013 IPL.

Royal Challengers Bangalore were playing against MI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and Kohli found home batter Ambati Rayudu short of his crease with a direct hit. However, Rayudu had unintentionally collided with the bowler Vinay Kumar when attempting the run.

The home crowd did not take kindly to the dismissal, and chants of 'Cheater Kohli' filled the stadium. The then-young batter expressed his disappointment after the game and said that he played for India in the end, and did not want to get hated in his own country.

#3 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh in action for Kings XI Punjab.

Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh is one of the biggest names on this list. The Punjab southpaw was booed by the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium - famously known for its sporting behavior - when he led the Kings XI Punjab to a one-run win over Mumbai Indians, then led by Sachin Tendulkar.

The crowd at the Wankhede had gone as far as to call actress Deepika Padukone his sister during the game when in reality, she was her partner back then. In response, Yuvraj celebrated aggressively after his team won the game and tried to give it back to the crowd, most probably not in chaste Punjabi.