IPL 2024 | Hardik Pandya has a tough task of winning over MI fans

Bengaluru: If Hardik Pandya were to be in World Wrestling Entertainment, a hugely popular sports entertainment caravan, he would have been the perfect heel - a pantomime villain fans love to hate.

But unlike the WWE, the Indian Premier League isn't scripted. Despite all its distractions in the shape of cheerleaders and DJs, IPL is essentially about the sport; the roles aren't defined and the dialogues aren't rehearsed. The feelings, therefore, are raw and genuine.

The overwhelming hostility towards Pandya isn't manufactured. He is constantly booed and is a favourite theme for hilarious but hateful memes.

After all, he hasn't antagonised just one but two sets of fans by his move back to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans. By "ditching" Gujarat, Pandya had obviously left their fans disappointed but, as an MI alumnus, he would have been gladly accepted back by Mumbai fans if he weren't to replace the immensely likeable Rohit Sharma, whose influence over the team's joint-high five titles is as legendary as MS Dhoni's over Chennai Super Kings.   

Over the years, through his batting exploits and distinct mannerisms, Rohit has become an endearing character. While at 37 he is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, fans don't like sudden changes.

They are emotionally invested in a player (or a team, as the case maybe) and any effort to alter that equation which is not gradual doesn't sit well with them. But then this is a franchise league. There is no room for sentiment and there is little time for fans' feelings; it's business and it's cutthroat.

If one is being absolutely pragmatic, Pandya's elevation as MI's captain is a forward-looking one. He is a gun all-rounder when fully fit, has proven his captaincy credentials both at Gujarat and as stand-in India captain in white-ball cricket and has at least five years of top-flight cricket left in him.

It makes absolute cricketing sense and the MI thinktank stuck to their conviction despite knowing that it wouldn’t be a popular decision. One can argue that Pandya has been unjustifiably targeted for the franchise's decision but one can't cherry-pick things. Bouquets and brickbats come in a package and often in disproportionate ways. Pandya accepted the responsibility despite being well aware of the backlash he was going to get.

And that's the nature of Pandya. It doesn't matter whether he is jeered or cheered, he just loves to be the centre of attention.

The constant catcalls at the stadiums and online abuse are unlikely to pull him down. After all, what he is being subjected to now is nothing compared to the public humiliation he went through following his cringe-inducing comments in a Koffee With Karan episode.

He has come back from that and he can come through this if he starts delivering both as captain and batter, if not so much as a bowler, soon.

In the two games the 30-year-old has led and lost, his captaincy has come in for sharp criticism. It's still early days in the tournament and MI are notorious for being slow starters -- they won their second title in 2015 after losing five of the first six matches and the first four on the trot -- but Pandya hasn't helped his cause with a few debatable calls.

Whether it was his batting position against his former team Titans or the manner in which he used Jasprit Bumrah in a run-fest against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Pandya has been put through the wringer. And if this trend isn't arrested immediately, even a nonchalant person like him can lose the plot. 

The short turnaround time in IPL can be both a boon and a curse. While you don't have much time to brood over your setbacks, it doesn't give you much time either to chalk out a course correction. You have to learn on the go. That's just the nature of the beast.