With Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya continuing to face hostility from fans in the ongoing Indian Premier League, his teammate Shreyas Gopal on Wednesday felt this will only strengthen his resolve to come back stronger with some good performances. Pandya was announced as MI captain for the IPL 2024 season, replacing fan favorite Rohit Sharma, who led the franchise to five titles. The change of guard has not gone down well with the fans, who have expressed their displeasure by booing Pandya at various locations.
Recalling his friendship with Pandya, Gopal said the MI skipper is very strong mentally and gets nervous with the behavior of the crowd.
“I have known Hardik for 10 years and not much has changed. He is a very tough guy and something like this will only motivate him,” Gopal said at a press conference ahead of the match against Punjab Kings.
“The way he has handled it so far is very inspiring for many of us. Although it is not easy to do it daily, he is strong and deserves praise.
“He has not been personally affected by it. But it is probably in his head.”
Under Pandya's leadership, MI have won just two out of six matches so far and are at the eighth position in the 10-team table.
Gopal, however, said the atmosphere in the dressing room remains positive and the team will bounce back.
“The team atmosphere is great. Unfortunately we couldn't get over the line as a winning team in the last game, but every team goes through ups and downs. When you start to hit a purple spot, you start to click as a team.” he said.
“We have seen some good matches when we came together as a group. We have to bring all aspects (batting, bowling and fielding) into one match. We have played some really good cricket.
“History says that (we got off to a bad start). But when we come together, character is shown. This team always has that X-factor that stands up and wants to prove to themselves that they are good enough to win championships. .”
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