"We tell our kids that when Pandya's kid is born, you have to remind him" - Wasim Akram urges fans to stop booing Hardik and move on
Legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has urged the cricket fans to stop booing Hardik Pandya at stadiums. In his view, the fans should have criticized him a bit if they wanted to, but things have crossed a certain limit this season.
Ahead of IPL 2024, Hardik Pandya shockingly left the Gujarat Titans and joined Mumbai Indians (MI) in the trade window. In fact, Pandya reportedly had a captaincy clause in his contract that if he joins MI, he would replace Rohit Sharma as the captain.
MI's decision to bring Pandya back and name him the new skipper when Rohit is the Indian team's captain angered many fans. The team's poor performance in IPL 2024 hasn't helped their cause either.
Talking about whether the fans booing Hardik at cricket venues is jusified, Wasim Akram said on Sportskeeda Cricket's Match ki Baat show:
"This is the problem in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. We never forget. We tell our kids that when Pandya's kid is born, you have to remind him why he became captain 20 years ago. We don't move on.
"I think fans need to be a little calm. At the end of the day, he is your player. He plays for Mumbai Indians, and he is the one who can make you win. There is no point booing your own player. You can criticize a little bit, but move on," Akram concluded.
Wasim then cited the example of Australian cricket fans and mentioned how they would have moved on from the 2023 World Cup in two days even if the Men in Yellow lost the final against India.
"In franchise cricket, such things happen" - Wasim Akram shares his thoughts on Hardik Pandya becoming MI's captain
On the same show, Wasim Akram gave his opinion on whether Mumbai Indians made the right decision by sacking Rohit Sharma as skipper for Hardik Pandya. Akram felt that MI could have waited for a year before making the change.
"In franchise cricket, such things happen. Look at how CSK took the captaincy decision for the long run, and maybe, even they (MI) had the same idea. This was not a personal decision, but in my view, Rohit Sharma should have continued as captain for one more year. Perhaps, next year, Hardik Pandya could have been the captain," Wasim Akram opined.
MI are currently seventh in the IPL 2024 points table with three wins from eight games. It will be interesting to see if Hardik Pandya can lead Mumbai to the playoffs.