MUMBAI: At a time when he has been the target of abuse in stadiums and on social media after replacing Rohit Sharma as the Mumbai Indians captain, Hardik Pandya has received some encouragement from the rival camp.
Ahead of MI’s first home game of the season, against the Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, the Jaipur-based side’s speedster Trent Boult went gaga in his praise for the India allrounder, calling him one of his “favourite Indian cricketers”.
“He’s (Pandya) a quality player, he hits boundaries, and is a match winner. I’ve played a lot against him in franchise cricket as well as in India vs New Zealand contests. He’s a phenomenal player who can take on the best bowlers on any given day,” Boult said.
Teammate Piyush Chawla on Sunday said: “He is just focused on the game, he is not worried what the crowd is doing and once we get a win under our belt things will be totally different.”