Hardik Pandya endured an upsetting return to his old home ground as he was welcomed with boos.
Local fans made sure Pandya, who left the Gujarat Titans to join Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2024, was made unwelcome at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad as they continuously booed the all-rounder during the IPL 2024 game.
Pandya enjoyed two successful seasons at Gujarat Titans, as he led them to the IPL title in 2022 and the runners up finish last season but switched to his former franchise MI, where he was named captain in Rohit Sharma's place.
Kevin Pietersen was stunned by the fans' response towards Pandya.
'I have never seen any Indian player getting booed like they are booing Hardik Pandya here in Ahmedabad,' KP noted in the commehtary box.
'Every time he goes anywhere near the ball, the boos ring out. I don't hear that too often in India. I don't remember a time in India when one of the heroes (was booed). He is a hero, he is a magnifient cricketer, he was fantastic here when they won the IPL 2022 title.'
'Can he win them over or win them back?' Ian Bishop asked to which his fellow Trinidadian Brian Lara made a cheeky dig: 'Play for India... next time they are playing here.'
While Hardik was subjected to boos, fans showed love for the Indian skipper with regular chants of 'Rohit! Rohit!'
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Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was named Chennai Super Kings captain a day before the IPL opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, handled the pressure well during the home match.
While Gaikwad led the team, the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni's presence behind the stumps provided valuable support.
Dhoni, known for his strategic captaincy, was actively involved in setting the field throughout the RCB innings, offering valuable guidance to the young captain.
Virender Sehwag took a playful jab at CSK's captaincy dynamic during the commentary.
While former CSK star Suresh Raina praised Gaikwad's leadership, Sehwag asked if Gaikwad was truly in charge, asking Raina (in Hindi), 'Is Ruturaj actually captaining today?'
Raina explained that while Dhoni may be setting the field placements, Gaikwad was making the captaincy calls, including bowling changes.
Sehwag wasn't entirely convinced and said, 'If you look at the camera, most of the work is being down by Dhoni.'
The broadcasters cut to a shot of Dhoni actively setting the field during the first half of RCB's innings. This visual evidence prompted Raina to concede, 'Well, it seems like he (Dhoni) is captaining,' triggering laughter from the commentators.
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Gujarat Titans pacer Mohit Sharma revealed that his franchise always reaches out to their players as soon as they know a cricketer from their team is injured.
Last season, he stepped up for GT whenever they have required a breakthrough in IPL 2023 and finished behind Mohammed Shami as the second highest wicket-taker for the team with 27 wickets.
After making his debut in IPL 2013 season, the 35 year old has played 100 matches and bagged 119 wickets at an economy rate of 8.41.
Speaking on Gujarat Titans' show Intermission on their X handle, Mohit said the time has just flown since the IPL 2023 final.
'It feels like the season just got over. So, in a way, I have been occupied throughout. I was at home for a month post-IPL. After which I went to London. It was a family holiday, so I spent some time there. Thereafter we had practice. Then we started preparing ourselves for the Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Then I was injured,' he said.
The Titans handled everything 'right from scratch' when he was injured, the pacer said, adding that he will be focusing on his training to keep his body fit during IPL 2024.
