Mumbai Indians named Hardik Pandya as their captain for the next edition of the Indian Premier League. MI traded Hardik Pandya in an all-cash deal from Gujarat Titans. The reception to the Hardik deal and the subsequent captaincy decision, however, has not gone down well amongst the fans.

Within an hour of the announcement, Mumbai Indians lost 400,000 followers on their Twitter account, with several fans expressing their displeasure. Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers was left shocked at the development and said that fans should be happy that Pandya returned to the franchise.

“To be fair to Hardik, he was also a Mumbai boy by for a long time. He was always Mumbai boy from the start of his IPL career. He was with him when they lifted some trophies. I get your point that Surya and Bumrah sort of stayed loyal to the brand when Hardik decided to move on, if you wanna say that. But he’s back,” AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

“And I think I find it quite strange that the reaction was pretty negative. I have been reading posts that said Mumbai Indians social platform lost like 1 million followers and people are upset,” he further added.

Pandya had gone to Gujarat Titans after leaving Mumbai Indians where he did exceedingly well. Pandya was named the player of the match in the 2022 IPL final where Gujarat Titans defeated Rajasthan Royals. In the 2023 season, Pandya led his team to the final, where they lost to MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in a final-ball thriller.

De Villiers suggested that the fans should give Hardik a boost instead of being critical of him.

“You should be happy about him coming back. I know he played two IPL seasons at the Gujarat Titans and won a trophy. They made the final in another. And now he wants to come back as a more experienced player, a more experienced captain. So I think you guys (fans) give him a bit of a boost, welcome him back in the Mumbai Indians camp. I’m pretty sure if he lifts a trophy with the rest of the team, you guys are not gonna have a problem with that,” concluded the legendary batter.