Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya was booed by some section of the fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad at the toss ahead of the team's Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 encounter against Gujarat Titans on Sunday. (Live Blog | Scorecard | Cricket News)
Pandya, who led GT to a title in their first season and then runners-up last season, moved to Mumbai last year in a controversial move and thus ending his two-year stint with the franchise.
The all-rounder was traded to MI in an all-cash deal with GT that made headlines for the wrong reasons. What's more, he also went on to replace Rohit Sharma as the skipper, that angered most of the side's fanbase.
Ahead of the toss in Ahmedabad, as Ravi Shastri introduced Hardik, one could hear a chorus of boos ring out at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Watch:
Earlier, Hardik won the toss and decided to field in their opening match of the Indian Premier League 2024 against his former side Gujarat Titans on Sunday.
The one-time IPL winners Gujarat Titans handed caps to three players -- senior India pacer Umesh Yadav, Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai and Australian fast bowler Spencer Johnson -- before the toss.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians filled three of their four overseas players slots with Australia's Tim David, South Africa's Gerald Coetzee and England's Luke Wood while all-rounder Shams Mulani also makes his debut.
Playing XIs:
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill (c), B Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Umesh Yadav, Sai Kishore, Spencer Johnson.
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David, Shams Mulani, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chala, Jasprit Bumrah, Luke Wood.
(With PTI inputs)
