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Virat Kohli (L) and Hardik Pandya in IPL 2024© X (formerly Twitter)
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya has been facing a lot of negative reaction from fans during the ongoing IPL 2024 and the all-rounder was even booed at their home ground – Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Following a sensational trade move from Gujarat Titans, Hardik replaced Rohit Sharma as the team captain but the decision was not taken well by a part of the MI fanbase. Things did not improve when Mumbai Indians slumped to three consecutive defeats at the start of the competition and the crowd reaction got worse towards Hardik. The situation was somewhat similar on Thursday when MI hosted Royal Challengers Bengaluru but Virat Kohli was not impressed with how the crowd was behaving.
The crowd started booing when Hardik came out to bat but Kohli gestured towards them to stop and cheer the player instead. In a video going viral on social media, Kohli was also seen reminding the crowd that they have seen Hardik grow as a cricketer and at the end of the day, he is an Indian cricket team star.
The reaction was almost instantaneous as a part of the crowd started chanting “Hardik Hardik” and the MI skipper responded by slamming Will Jacks for a massive six to the delight of the spectators.
Former Indian cricket team spinner Harbhajan Singh was extremely pleased with how Kohli came to the support of Hardik and praised the star batter for being a “very very good sportsman”.
“The way Virat Kohli supported Hardik Pandya and told the crowd not to boo Hardik and cheer for him, it is a sign of a great player and a very very good sportsman,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
Coming to the match, Mumbai Indians rode brilliant performances from Jasprit Bumrah and Ishan Kishan to register a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
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