Former England cricket team batter Kevin Pietersen was left surprised by Hardik Pandya getting booed by the Ahmedabad crowd during the IPL 2024 match between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans on Sunday. This is the first time that Hardik was playing at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad since completing his sensational trade move from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians and he received a heated welcome from the local crowd. Pietersen acknowledged the boos from the crowd on commentary and said that it is rare for an Indian cricketer to get booed on home soil.
"I have never seen any Indian player getting booed like they are booing Hardik Pandya here in Ahmedabad. This is a rare happening," Pietersen said on commentary.The new MI skipper Pandya was booed by the fans when he came out for the toss while chants of 'Rohit Rohit' (former captain Rohit Sharma) reverberated throughout the entire stadium. During the toss, when Ravi Shastri introduced the captains, Pandya was met with boos from the fans. Even after winning the toss, they continued to jeer at him when he began to speak.
Meanwhile, Pandya credited his birth place Gujarat for his success but made it clear that cricketing birth took place in Mumbai. "Feels good to be back. My birthplace is Gujarat, a lot of success came in Gujarat, very grateful to the crowd and this state. My cricketing birth happened in Mumbai, so really good to be back," Pandya said at the toss.
