"Not Hardik's Fault, Franchise Has…": Ganguly On MI Captain Being Booed

Indian cricket great Sourav Ganguly isn’t someone who shies away from answering tricky questions. Attending the press conference ahead of the Delhi Capitals’ Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 clash against Mumbai Indians, Ganguly addressed arguably the most grueling topic in cricket today, the Hardik Pandya captaincy situation. The India all-rounder was appointed the Mumbai Indians skipper ahead of the start of the season, with the franchise bosses deciding to remove Rohit Sharma. While Hardik was hoping for support from fans, since the start of the new campaign, all Hardik has gotten from them are boos.

When Ganguly was asked about the situation Hardik finds themselves in, he responded saying it was the all-rounder’s fault that he was given MI captaincy. The decision was made by the owners.

“Fans shouldn’t boo Hardik Pandya, it’s not correct. The franchise has appointed him captain. That’s what happens in sports, whether you captain India or you captain your franchise, you are appointed as captain,” Dada said in the pre-match press conference.

“Rohit Sharma is a different class. His performance for this franchise, his performance for India, has been on a different level, as captain and as a player. It’s not Hardik’s fault that he has been appointed as captain,” he added.

#WATCH | On Mumbai Indians’ Captain Hardik Pandya, Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly says, “… The franchise has appointed him as captain. This is what happens in sports when you captain the country or a state… If we see Rohit Sharma, he has a different class.… pic.twitter.com/ssznBiIS3N

— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2024

No matter where Hardik has gone since the start of the campaign, be it at the home stadium of his previous franchise, Gujarat Titans (Ahmedabad), or at MI’s home Wankhed, fans’ jeers have caught up with him time and again.

The Mumbai Indians’ performance in the campaign, three defeats in three matches, haven’t helped Hardik’s case either, with certain captaincy decisions also not going his way.

While Hardik has Ganguly’s sympathies, he would not be praying for all of the MI captain’s troubles to end in the match against Delhi Capitals.