MCA rules out rumours of giving instructions to prevent people from booing Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya (Pic: AFP)

Sources close to the Mumbai Cricket Association dismissed rumours that it had directed security personnel to prevent Mumbai Indians (MI) fans from booing skipper Hardik Pandya.

Since Hardik replaced Rohit Sharma as MI skipper after returning to his original franchise following two seasons at the helm of Gujarat Titans (GT), Hardik has faced jeers and boos from a section of fans while also facing scrutiny from former India players.

Adding to his woes, the five-time IPL champions got off to the worst possible start this season, losing their lung-opener to GT and also going down in their second to the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Even during the pre-season press conference when Hardik and head coach Mark Boucher faced questions over the change in captaincy.

In his replies, Hardik didn't address the questions directly, triggering a backlash on social media. Even Boucher didn't address the question which revolved around circumstances that led to the management arriving at the decision to replace Rohit as MI skipper.

In MI's second game of the Indian Premier League 2024 season, Hardik was booed by a section of fans in Hyderabad. In what was the highest-scoring game in the history of the tournament, MI suffered a 31-run defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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After the SRH game, a video surfaced on social media in which Hardik was seen having an intense conversation with franchise owner Akash Ambani. After the chat, Hardik sprinted up the stairs to the MI dressing room. However, as he was running up the steps, some fans raised 'Rohit' chants to which he smashed the railing in apparent fury.

The five-time champions will play their first home game of the 17th season against Rajasthan Royals on Monday. Ahead of the game, there were rumours regarding MCA giving special instructions to security to stop people from booing Hardik.

Sources close to MCA ruled out the rumours, telling ANI, "No instructions were given for this specific game. There have been set guidelines issued by BCCI on spectators' behaviour in the stadium over the years and that is the process that we have followed and continue to follow for all games, whether IPL or in domestic cricket."

Mumbai are still searching for their first win of the 2024 season after losing their first two games.

The Hardik-led team are currently at the bottom of the table with zero points and a Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.925.

(With agency inputs)