Hardik Pandya distraught as Mumbai Indian fans boo him at Wankhede Stadium, Sanjay Manjrekar says 'Behave'

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Hardik Pandya looked distraught after home fans booed him at toss ahead of the Mumbai Indians (MI) versus Rajasthan Royals (RR) clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, April 1.

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya, who was also booed and abused by fans at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, and Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, was booed for the third consecutive time in the IPL 2024.

Notably, Hardik Pandya has been subject to a lot of trolling and booing after replacing Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians captain. There also have been instances when fans have crossed the limit and abused the star all-rounder.

As fans booed him and chanted former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma's name at the toss in Wankhede Stadium, Hardik Pandya looked visibly hurt. Sanjay Manjrekar, who was conducting the coin toss, immediately asked the fans to behave, but that hardly had any impact on them.

Ironically, Hardik Pandya hailed the Mumbai Indians fans for their support on the occasion of Mumbai Indians 250th match in the IPL. The franchise became the first team to achieve the feat in the tournament.

Jio Cinema expert Eoin Morgan expressed shock after the home fans booed their captain Hardik Pandya. He said he has never seen anything like that, adding that Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians will have to bounce back to win back their fans.

Mumbai Indians rolls out behavioural rule for fans at Wankhede Stadium

As Hardik Pandya returns to Wankhede Stadium as Mumbai Indians captain, the five-time champions have rolled a set of rules to be followed by the fans at the iconic venue.

Hours before the start of the match against Rajasthan on Monday, Mumbai Indians made a social media post to remind the fans that abusive language and gestures was not allowed at the Wankhede Stadium.

'Offensive and threatening conducts', 'Discriminatory languages and gestures', and 'Throwing of objects', have been mentioned under the 'Prohibited Behaviour' category at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

"Ye dar acha laga," a fan commented on the post by Mumbai Indians. "This will increase trolling for Hardik Pandya," another fan wrote. "Arrest if anyone abuses Nita ji and Hardik bhai," one user commented.

Mumbai Indians at bottom of IPL 2024 table

The five-time champions have won both their IPL 2024 matches under new captain Hardik Pandya and are reeling at the bottom of the 10-team points table. They would be aiming to bounce back by winning against unbeaten and upbeat Rajasthan Royals in front of their home crowd.