No More Hatred for Hardik Pandya but a Hero’s Welcome at Wankhede, All-rounder Says, ‘Thank You, Mumbai’| WATCH

Only a month ago, the entire Mumbai city turned against Hardik Pandya for replacing Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024. The all-rounder’s homecoming included boos from the Wankhede audience and unlimited bashing on social media. But the all-rounder faced it all with a big smile and kept doing his work calmly.

On Thursday when he returned to the same city, it welcomed him with open arms. It was the Indian vice-captain Hardik Pandya who recently won the T20 World Cup 2024 for his country and had arrived in Mumbai to celebrate the triumph with the fans out there. The hatred for him which garnered headlines during the IPL vanished and the cricket lovers were chanting his name ‘Hardik-Hardik’ in a jam-packed Wankhede.

The all-rounder took to his Instagram account to share a selfie video with the T20 World Cup trophy with the crazy Mumbai crowd in the background, shot during the team’s victory parade.

“India, you mean the world to me! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the love.. these are moments that I will never ever forget! Thank you for coming out to celebrate with us, despite the rains! We love you so much! Celebrating with you is why we do what we do! We’re all champions! All 1.4 billion of us! Thank you Mumbai, thank you India,” Hardik wrote.

Later when he stepped into the Wankahede, the crowd seemed to have forgotten about what transpired during the IPL. Instead, they cheered for him as the all-rounder waved the T20 World Cup Trophy.

Pandya certainly found organic acceptance after a stellar T20 World Cup campaign. The once jeered ‘Mumbai Indian’ was the cheered ‘Indian’ in Mumbai. He craved validation and unconditional love and Mumbai was now ready to embrace him once again.