IPL 2024: Aaron Finch Slams Rohit Sharma for Not Defending Hardik Pandya When Booed
Aaron Finch criticizes Rohit Sharma for not standing up for Hardik Pandya when he was being booed by the crowd.
Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch has weighed in on the struggles of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2024, particularly the negativity faced by new captain Hardik Pandya. Finch believes Rohit Sharma, Hardik’s predecessor, could have mitigated the situation by publicly backing the all-rounder.
Hardik, traded from Gujarat Titans in the off-season, took over the captaincy of Mumbai Indians from Rohit Sharma. However, his tenure began with a storm of boos from MI fans across stadiums. This negativity seemingly impacted both Hardik’s performance and the team’s overall success.
Speaking on the Around the Wicket Podcast, Finch suggested Rohit’s public support could have made a difference.
“The one thing I would have loved to see from Rohit was a public statement,” Finch said. “The crowd’s resentment towards Hardik was unbelievable. A statement like ‘This is part of the plan, and Hardik has my full support’ could have settled things much quicker.”
The former Australian batter also pointed out the turnaround in fan’s behaviour towards Hardik after the World Cup squad announcement.
“And it’s changed to cheers when he walks out since the World Cup squad has been announced. But for eight games, Hardik was getting booed during a Mumbai Indians game,” he added.
Hardik has averaged under 20 with the bat in 12 outings in the tournament so far, while his bowling has shown improvement recently, the economy rate remains high at over 10. Rohit himself hasn’t been in top form, scoring only 33 runs in his last five innings.
