The triumphant heroes received an enthusiastic welcome in their homeland. India clinched the T20 World Cup after 17 years of drought. As Indian team returned to their nation on 04 July, they were received by an overwhelming crowd at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, India.
The vice-captain, Hardik Pandya had an emotional rollercoaster in Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium. Earlier this year, in the IPL 2024 he was an object of aversion and hate. He was brought back by the franchise, Mumbai Indians as the new captain, replacing the fan favorite, Rohit Sharma.
With every defeat under his captaincy, Pandya faced a backlash. Crowd booed the captain showing their unacceptability of him as new captain of Mumbai Indians. This also impacted Hardik’s performance as he was welcomed by the Mumbai crowd with chants of ‘Rohit, Rohit.‘
After T20 World Cup 2024, at the same venue, by the same Mumbai crowd, Hardik was treated differently.
Indian Fans Reception of Hardik Pandya After T20 World Cup
Hardik Pandya’s role in the T20 World Cup 2024 was immensely significant. He made a great comeback for his nation. He became the first Indian to reach the pinnacle of ICC T20I rankings of all-rounders. In the final match, he grabbed the three wickets and conceded 20 runs at the Kensington Oval.
The Indian crowd was filled with adulation for Pandya. At the Wankhede stadium, sea of blue chanted ‘Hardik, Hardik’. Mumbaikars who earlier booed the Mumbai Indians’ captain, now accepted Hardik’s redemption after India’s second T20 World Cup trophy.
Hardik Pandya was overwhelmed by the response he received by the same crowd who were anti-Hardik earlier. Sharing a video from the scene on X, he expressed his gratitude to the fans,
“India, you mean the world to me! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the love.. these are moments that I will never ever forget! Thank you for coming out to celebrate with us, despite the rains! We love you so much! Celebrating with you is why we do what we do! We’re all champions! All 1.4 billion of us! Thank you Mumbai, thank you India”
Rohit Sharma announced his retirement after the title triumph in the Caribbean. It will be fair to speculate that Indian fans will no more be angry with Pandya if he becomes the new face of Indian cricket team.
READ MORE : Who Will Lead the Indian Team for Zimbabwe T20 Series?
Tabinda Mir is a writer from Kashmir. She is an English Honours graduate and her interests primarily dwell in poetry and sports writing. She likes to cover Cricket as an avid fan. Apart from sports, her other publications include articles, poems and a letter to summer in the book titled, “Under The Summer Skies”.
Also, her leisure time activities include reading novels, poetry, non literary works, philosophies and writing poetry, short stories, articles on diverse themes.
