'We never give up. We'll keep fighting...': Hardik Pandya breaks silence on MI's poor performance in IPL 2024

Hardik Pandya on Tuesday spoke out amidst criticism of his captaincy and the audience's booing following Mumbai Indians' poor start to the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Mumbai lost all three initial matches, with their latest defeat being against Rajasthan Royals at home, placing them at the bottom of the points table.

Mumbai Indians began their season against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, marking Hardik Pandya's return to his former home ground since joining MI last November. Despite a thrilling match at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Mumbai suffered a six-run loss to the five-time champions.

In their second game, Mumbai Indians faced a daunting challenge as Sunrisers Hyderabad piled up a record 277 runs. Three batsmen - Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, and Heinrich Klaasen - each scored fifties. Although Mumbai put up a good fight, the disciplined bowling from Sunrisers in the final overs limited them to 246 for five at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

In Mumbai's first home game on Monday, they struggled with their batting performance as Rajasthan Royals' Riyan Parag led an impressive chase, scoring an unbeaten 54 runs. Rajasthan comfortably won the match with 27 balls to spare.

Hardik Pandya's captaincy, particularly regarding team selection and the use of Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay, has faced criticism. Additionally, Pandya has been subjected to harsh treatment from the crowd at all three venues where Mumbai Indians played. The crowd's disapproval stemmed from the franchise's decision to remove Rohit Sharma from the captaincy last December. Pandya was consistently jeered and booed throughout the matches.

Amidst all this, Hardik took to X to put out his thoughts and wrote, “If there's one thing you should know about this team, we never give up. We'll keep fighting, we'll keep going.”

Despite criticism, Mumbai Indians' current start to the IPL season is not their worst. In 2015, under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, they lost all their first four matches but rallied to win the title.

Next up, Mumbai Indians will take on Delhi Capitals at home on Sunday, April 7.