Mumbai Indians have had a difficult start to the IPL 2024 season, losing two of their first two matches. The club had already made headlines before the commencement of the competition with Hardik Pandya's dramatic trade from the Gujarat Titans and the decision to replace Rohit Sharma as captain with the all-rounder.
The approach has not worked out for them thus far, with a tight loss against Gujarat Titans at the start of the season and a crushing defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, in which they conceded 277 runs in 20 overs. Hardik has received a lot of criticism from fans and specialists alike, and his wife Natasa Stankovic has been harassed by trolls on social media.
Meanwhile, following his team's 31-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Wednesday, Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya attempted to boost his team's confidence by stating that the tournament's "toughest soldiers will face the toughest test."
Pandya's takeover as a captain by replacing Rohit Sharma is attracting trolls not only to Hardik Pandya but also to his wife Natasa. Rohit fans are not sparring even his wife.
In a video posted on MI's social media handle, Hardik motivated his side after their second consecutive loss and asked the squad to help each other in "worst or good" situations.
Toughest soldiers get the toughest test; we are the toughest team in the competition, anyone who could have come close to where we reached as a batting group or just overall are us - let's make sure we will help each other; worse or good, we will be together.
~Hardik said
Sachin Tendulkar, the legendary batsman, stated that the match was quite open, despite Mumbai conceding 277 runs. He said that Mumbai batted "well" during their inning.
In the second half, despite scoring 277, 10 overs down the line, nobody knew who was a clear winner. The game was very much open. The target was very much achievable. That's a clear-cut sign that we have batted well. So, let's stick together, tighter. There are going to be tougher moments, we will stick together as a group and pull it through.
~Tendulkar said