IPL: The unprecedented booing of Indian cricket star Hardik Pandya - BBC News

IPL captain Hardik Pandya is being booed by by fans in packed stadiums across the country. What is going on?

1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, AFPImage caption, Pandya (right) has replaced Indian Test skipper Rohit Sharma at the Mumbai Indians for the 2024 IPLBy Saurabh SomaniSports writerFor the past two weeks, an Indian cricket star has been booed heavily by fans in packed stadiums across the country.

Hardik Pandya, captain of the Mumbai Indians team in Indian Premier League (IPL), the world's richest cricket tournament, has faced booing crowds during the team's games in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and even in home ground, Mumbai.

Traded from his earlier side Gujarat Titans, Pandya has replaced India's all format skipper Rohit Sharma at the Mumbai Indians for the 2024 IPL, which began on 23 March. The 30-year-old seam-bowling all-rounder had previously been part of four title-winning campaigns under Sharma's leadership at Mumbai Indians, spending his first seven IPL seasons there until 2021.

For many, the move from Mumbai came as a surprise. The franchise has a history of storied captains. Pandya's appointment marks Mumbai's fifth captain since its inception in 2008, succeeding the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Rohit Sharma.

However, Mumbai fans have not taken to it lightly. They believe Sharma - the competition's joint-most successful captain, alongside MS Dhoni - didn't give up the captaincy and was displaced. And they are letting Pandya know how they feel.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68711086

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