‘You live, learn, and move on,’ was Shane Watson’s advice to Hardik Pandya after booing

Due to recent occurrences at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya is the subject of intense criticism and backlash from the cricket community after the crowd jeered him. Pandya’s leadership position is proving to be difficult for the Mumbai-based team to navigate this season, as noted by former cricket players and commentators.

Various voices in the cricket community have reflected on the issue and shared their opinions. Ravichandran Ashwin put the problem down to cultural differences, but Steve Smith waved it off. Ravi Shastri pointed out the intricacies involved in his opinion that the captaincy debate should have been avoided altogether.

Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson spoke out in favour of Hardik Pandya among the differing views. Reputable for his opinions, Watson said that he thought the Mumbai Indians would have handled the matter differently if they had known that Pandya would receive a reaction after rejoining the team.

The Australian all-rounder, Pandya, responded to the criticism and hostility he had received by saying, “The way things have played out,” to the Hindustan Times. Looking back, it’s always a very fantastic thing you don’t have until it happens, and regrettably, Hardik’s individual response and that of the Mumbai Indians as a franchise are things that really no one would have if they had it all back.”

“They would have done things a little differently to reduce that backlash a little; that unnecessary stuff didn’t need to come,” Shane Watson said. However, you learn by living. And everyone is living and learning, just like us. Learning is also being done by one of the world’s top sports organisations. And that’s the wonderful thing about life—just learning from every event and striving to improve for the next one.”

Shane Watson highlighted Pandya’s capacity to tune out other distractions and concentrate on his performance while acknowledging the difficulties that lie ahead. Pandya’s leadership and tenacity will be tested once again when MI plays the Delhi Capitals in their next game. Watson pleaded for Pandya to stay focused and use his abilities to quiet his detractors and guide MI to victory.

Pandya’s career has been full of surprises, such as his time as Gujarat Titans captain in the 2022 Indian Premier League before returning to the Mumbai Indians in 2024. But when he returned home, MI supporters unexpectedly became hostile during a game at Wankhede Stadium against the Rajasthan Royals.