"Wohi stadium wohi insaan" - Pankhuri Sharma reacts to Hardik Pandya getting cheered at Wankhede during 2024 T20 World Cup felicitation ceremony
Hardik Pandya received a rousing reception at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during Team India's 2024 T20 World Cup felicitation ceremony on Thursday, July 4. The reaction at the venue was in contrast to what he got while captaining the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2024.
The all-rounder was heavily booed at Wankhede during the IPL, with fans expressing their displeasure over him replacing Rohit Sharma as the MI captain. Hardik bounced back from the difficult phase and turned things around with impactful performances at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Reacting to fans cheering loudly for Hardik during the felicitation ceremony, the cricket star's sister-in-law Pankhuri Sharma shared an Instagram story on Friday, July 5. She pointed out how it was the same stadium and the same person, but that the boos turned into cheers this time.
Pankhuri wrote:
"WOHI STADIUM WOHI INSAAN AUR WOHI LOG BAS WAQT ALAG HAI (SAME STADIUM SAME INDIVIDUAL SAME PEOPLE JUST THE TIME IS DIFFERENT)!!"
Hardik Pandya was one of the key architects in India's seven-run win over South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup final. He claimed three wickets and bowled the crucial final over, where he successfully defended 16 runs.
"People have booed me" - Hardik Pandya on how the last months were for him
During an interaction with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hardik Pandya spoke about how difficult the last six months were for him. He highlighted that he was at the receiving end of a ton of negativity.
The 30-year-old stated that he was clear about not speaking about the phase and instead letting his game do all the talking. Hardik said: (via ANI)
"Last six months have been very entertaining for me. There have been a lot of ups and downs. Many things have happened like people have booed me. I always felt that if I give any answer, it would be through sport, I won’t speak anything. I believed and worked hard and there was great support from the captain and coach."
Hardik Pandya scored 144 runs from six innings at a strike rate of 151.57 at the 2024 T20 World Cup. With the ball, he claimed 11 wickets across eight outings and finished with an economy rate of 7.64.