Ahmedabad: Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya was welcomed with massive boos and chants of 'fixer, fixer' as he led his team to its inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) match against his former team Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
At the toss, as Ravi Shastri introduced Pandya and GT captain Shubman Gill, one could hear the crowd booing the Indian all-rounder. Fans are upset with Hardik who was traded to Mumbai after leading Gujarat to their maiden title in 2022. The next year, Pandya took GT to runners-up but left the fans shocked when he moved to MI, the team he started his IPL career in.
Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians captain, which, in turn, upset the MI supporters. Hardik Pandya has been struggling with injuries which kept him away from the international cricketing action. He injured his ankle during the 2023 World Cup in October last year. Sunday's match is his first competitive game of cricket after the injury.
Speaking at the toss, Pandya attributed his success to Gujarat, his birthplace, and thanked the crowd and the western state. He, however, attempted to justify his decision of moving to Mumbai, a city where, he said, his 'cricketing birth' happened. "My cricketing birth happened in Mumbai, so really good to be back," Pandya said.
As for the game, Pandya won the toss and decided to field. The one-time IPL winners Gujarat Titans handed caps to three players -- senior India pacer Umesh Yadav, Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai and Australian fast bowler Spencer Johnson -- before the toss.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians filled three of their four overseas players slots with Australia's Tim David, South Africa's Gerald Coetzee and England's Luke Wood while all-rounder Shams Mulani also makes his debut.
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