Indian all-rounder and Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya had a tough six months or so prior to him becoming a part of the T20 World Cup-winning side. Pandya, who overcame an injury he faced during 2023 ODI World Cup to lead Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024 season faced blowback from fans over him taking Rohit Sharma's place. Meanwhile, Pandya also could not perform with the bat or ball during the whole season, even as rumours about his personal life spread like wildfire.
While most of Pandya's Mumbai Indians teammates have remained tight-lipped about the incident, veteran pacer Jasprit Bumrah has now come out and spoken about Hardik Pandya getting booed at various venues in IPL 2024. In an interaction with Indian Express, Bumrah shared his views on the whole fiasco, stating, “We understand (that) we live in a country where emotion is really the talking point. It's an emotion-driven country. We understand that fans do get emotional, and players are also emotional….It does affect that you're an India player, and you're playing in India, and your own fans are speaking that about you. But it is the way it is. You've got to take it on your chin. How can you go out there and stop people?"
Bumrah also stated that his captain had the support of ‘inner circle’ and if he required any support his family withing the team was there to talk to him.
Bumrah added, "It's not that simple saying 'just don't focus on it.' They're screaming, and you can hear it, but then, the inner circle helps you. We, as a team, don't encourage that, we don't promote that, we don't think that is warranted… Now, the world can think what they want to. We as a team were talking to him, if he needed support, his family will always be there. Certain things are beyond your control. If it happens, it happens.”
