Pakistan legend makes stunning statement on Hardik Pandya

Legendary Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram has lashed out at the Indian fans for their treatment of Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

One must remember that Hardik Pandya was named as the captain of the Mumbai Indians ahead of the 17th edition of the IPL, replacing the much-loved Rohit Sharma from that position.

Since then, fans have been giving an extremely harsh reception to Hardik Pandya during MI’s IPL fixtures across the country, with the 30-year-old cricketer facing boos and even expletives on occasions.

Former cricketers previously said that such kind of behavior was taking a mental toll on Hardik Pandya who thrives on a positive vibe inside the stadium.

Moreover, he has been woefully out of form – both with bat and the ball, with some reports suggesting that his World Cup spot was under immense threat because of Shivam Dube’s heroics in the elite T20 competition.

He’s managed to score only 151 runs at a mediocre average of 21.57 with the highest score of 39 in the eight matches he’s played in the tournament so far.

In the bowling department, the Gujarat-born all-rounder has hardly bowled and when he has taken up the ball, he has gone for plenty of runs.

Hardik Pandya has picked just four wickets in eight games but what would be worrying the Mumbai Indians management is his economy rate. In the 17 overs, Hardik Pandya has bowled, he has been virtually clobbered by opposition batters, allowing them to cherry-pick him for sixes and boundaries. The result is that he has given away runs at almost 11 per over.

Recent reports suggest that Hardik Pandya could be in danger of losing out his place in the squad for the forthcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the US.

India’s T20 World Cup team is expected to be named on April 28-29 when the national selection committee will meet in Delhi following the arrival of Ajit Agarkar from his holidays, with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Shivam Dube predicted to take place in the Rohit Sharma-led side.

Now Wasim Akram has shared his concerns about how Indian fans have been mistreating Hardik Pandya.

“This is the problem in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. We never forget. We tell our kids that when Pandya’s kid is born, you have to remind him why he became captain 20 years ago. We don’t move on,” Wasim Akram told Sportskeeda.

“I think fans need to be a little calm. At the end of the day, he is your player. He plays for Mumbai Indians, and he is the one who can make you win. They still can qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs. There is no point booing your own player. You can criticize a little bit, but move on,” Akram concluded.

Previously, England great Kevin Pietersen and retired India batter Robin Uthappa shared similar thoughts on Hardik Pandya’s mental battles.

“The mocking, trolling, the memes about his fitness. You don’t think it hurts him? It hurts him. It hurts any human being. How many people actually know the reality of it? Hardik is dealing with mental health issues, for sure. We, as people, I understand, as Indians, we are emotional. But it is not right to impose this kind of treatment on any human being. It is unbecoming as a society for us to do that to someone and be okay with it. We should not be laughing along with it. We should not be forwarding these memes,” Robin Uthappa said on a YouTube show.

“It’s clearly affecting Hardik. I’ve seen how crazy it’s gone all over social media. And having been right in the mix of this 10 years ago when I left the England team and all the nonsense that was happening there, being booed at home, being a villain in the streets, going into restaurants and people look at you funny, this affects you away from the game of cricket,” Kevin Pietersen told Star Sports.

“It’s not just affects you, it affects your family. And that’s the fear for what’s happening for me with Hardik at the moment is that this is going to hurt him for a very, very long time. When he finishes his Indian career, when he finishes playing cricket, it’s still going to hurt him and that’s why something drastic has to be done,” he added.

“Something drastic has to be done because this guy is an Indian cricketer and in a month’s time you wanna win a World Cup for India. Are the same people who are booing him now going to boo him when he plays against Pakistan in New York on the ninth or the 10th of June. I don’t think so. So it needs to stop and something needs to happen. Something drastic needs to happen because I don’t like seeing another cricket are going through something that I actually went through,” the South Africa-born cricketer concluded.