“I feel for Hardik (Pandya). I can`t imagine what he must be going through right now. On one hand, it is fans who are scrutinising every move of his, and on the other, the team has not been up to the mark so far. The poor chap has nowhere to go, he and only he, is answerable for anything that goes wrong. Hope he can turn it around for MI (Mumbai Indians) soon,” Sujeet Kashyap, a devout follower of the franchise since 2013, the same year when Rohit Sharma was appointed the captain, tells Mid-Day.

Since Pandya replaced Rohit as MI captain after returning to his original franchise following two seasons at the helm of Gujarat Titans which is now being led by the young Shubman Gill, the lanky all-rounder has faced jeers and boos from a section of MI fans. Adding to his woes, Mumbai Indians got off to the worst possible start in the ongoing edition, losing the opener to Titans and also going down in their second and third to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals respectively.