Recently, Jasprit Bumrah, India’s number one fast bowler, in an exclusive interview with The Parami News opened up about the challenges faced by Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya during the 2024 IPL season. Bumrah talked about Pandya’s struggles and how important it is to maintain mental toughness against criticism and adversity.
Pandya took over captaincy from Rohit Sharma just before the start of the campaign and since then he has been under intense scrutiny and regularly booed especially at their home ground Wankhede Stadium. In addition, the team’s poor performance that saw them finish last in standings with only four wins from fourteen fixtures worsened things.
Bumrah emphasized that it was paramount for Pandya to ignore negative thoughts, which was his approach during this hard time.
“We understand we are an emotional country. It’s a country governed by emotions. We know our fans get sentimental as well as players,” Bumrah said. He also admitted that home crowd responses can affect a player significantly.
The pacer found it hard to ignore negative remarks despite knowing that he had to do so.
“It’s not like saying ‘just don’t focus on it.’ They’re shouting and you can hear them but then there is an inner circle which helps you out. This is not something we as a team encourage or propagate or even think it is called for.” Said Bumrah.
Jasprit Bumrah noted that such support systems were crucial to teammates as well as families. “Now let the world decide whatever they want to. When we spoke about it as a squad, if anyone needs support his family will be there for him always. There are certain things are beyond your control; if they happen they happen.”
The T20 World Cup showcased outstanding performances by Pandya leading to significant change in public opinion towards him according to the Indian seamer; though he cautioned that all could be lost with just one defeat.
“You are starting to appreciate it now, because when you play a game which is so popular, every sportsman goes through these things. In football, there are fans who will boo the best players in the world. This is a part of the sportsman’s journey; there will be times that things do not go well, sometimes it may not even be fair but that is how it is.”
Finally Jasprit Bumrah ended his sentiments to Pandya and others by telling them to take their challenges as they come. “We have had great lives, we are doing great things in our sport and for ourselves. All these challenges will come but if you can take it in the right spirit.”
