"Glad we got rid of this snake" - Shocked, furious MI fans tear into Hardik Pandya for being 'ungrateful' to Rohit Sharma

Hardik Pandya during a practice session in Ireland. (P.C.:Twitter)
Hardik Pandya during a practice session in Ireland. (P.C.:Twitter)

Hardik Pandya's comeback to competitive cricket has been nothing short of a fairytale.

His place in the Indian team was previously questioned when he was unable to bowl and was also inconsistent with his finishing ability. However, Pandya took time away from the game, worked on his all-round skills, and came back with a bang in the 2022 Indian Premier League season.

Contributing with both bat and ball, Pandya captained Gujarat Titans to their maiden title in their very first season.

His captaincy skills have been admired by many and he has also been named India's captain for the T20Is against Ireland, beginning tonight (June 26).

In the pre-series press conference, the 28-year-old credited the likes of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni for shaping his captaincy and said:

"I have taken lots of things from Kohli and Dhoni - at the same time, I wanted to be natural as a captain - I like to practical and take decisions that way."

MI fans unhappy Hardik Pandya didn't mention Rohit Sharma

Hardik Pandya played under captain Rohit Sharma for seven seasons at the Mumbai Indians (MI), winning four titles. Consequently, MI fans were shocked that the all-rounder didn't even mention Sharma.

These fans took to Twitter and slammed Pandya for not crediting the current Indian captain. They believe had Rohit not backed Pandya, the latter wouldn't have been as successful as he is today.

Here are some of the reactions:

Most of the players who were a part of the squad for the T20I series against South Africa have retained their place in the squad against Ireland. It will be interesting to see if India try out some fresh faces in the two games.

Team India squad for Ireland T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.

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