Told crowd to behave because Hardik Pandya is big-stage player: Sanjay Manjrekar

When Sanjay Manjrekar schooled the Wankhede crowd to behave after they booed the newly-appointed Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya, all he wanted the public to realise that their boorish behaviour targeting a big stage player, was unfair.

Pandya was jeered at every venue after he was handed captaincy by MI, signalling a controversial end to the successful and popular Rohit Sharma’s tenure at the helm.The whole episode had a deep-level impact on Pandya.

Manjrekar, while conducting the toss at the Wankhede during a home match of MI, did interject but it only led to a meme-fest by the insensitive social media trolls.Pandya played a major part in India’s second T20 World Cup trophy with 144 runs and 11 wickets, and Manjrekar now stands vindicated.

What a turnaround for Hardik Pandya. In IPL, there were people jeering him and booing him and I told them to behave because this is a big-stage player, Manjrekar told ’ESPNCricinfo’.The former India player and noted pundit always knew that Pandya would hold his nerve in pressure situations as he brought his team back in the game with the wicket of the dangerous Heinrich Klaasen and then closed out the game with a mindblowing final over.