IPL 2024: Hardik Pandya is not worried about the crowd, says MI teammate Piyush Chawla

Whenever Mumbai Indians have taken the field in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), there has always been a battle in a battle - Hardik Pandya vs the crowd. The all-rounder has faced hostile crowds ever since his switch to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans was announced.

Fans in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad abused and booed Pandya for almost the entire duration of the match and the prospect of the Mumbai skipper facing more hostility looms large when he steps out at the Wankhede Stadium on April 1.

However, Pandya’s teammate Piyush Chawla said the MI skipper’s focus is only on the game and not about the crowd at all and hoped that one win will change the circumstances. “The way Hardik has taken it, he is just focusing on the game, he is not even worried about what the crowd is doing, and once we get a win under our belt, things will be totally different,” Chawla said.

Chawla opined that the crowd’s behaviour is not something that is under their control and did not want to comment more on that. “Well, that you can't really help because, you know, they are a crowd, and whatever they are doing is beyond our control, so we can’t really say what they are doing,” the veteran leg spinner added.

Pandya’s former teammate and now Rajasthan Royals’ premier bowler, Trent Boult, also concurred with Chawla’s opinion on the outside noise but said it is easier said than done. “It is something you cannot control, as professional sportspeople, it is what you are exposed to in a way. You have to block out the white noise and focus on the job, it is easier said than done,” Boult opined.

Having played alongside Pandya in the past, Boult said the Mumbai skipper is capable of doing his job by not allowing anything to distract him. “There are a lot of passionate fans in this country, and speaking of Hardik specifically, he is one of my favourite Indian cricketers, and I do not think the booing will hold out for too long. I am sure he is one of those guys who can put it aside and focus on the job,” Boult concluded.