"No one outside knows what you are going through" - Steve Smith advises MI skipper Hardik Pandya to 'block out noise' in IPL 2024

Australian batting star Steven Smith has advised Hardik Pandya to 'block out the noise' from the stadiums in IPL 2024 as they are 'irrelevant. However, the 34-year-old Aussie has admitted that it's subjective how people respond to such jibes and come out of it.

With Hardik replacing Rohit Sharma as the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain ahead of IPL 2024, a backlash followed in massive numbers across social media platforms. The 30-year-old also had to cop boos from spectators at the stadiums in the two matches he has captained Mumbai Indians.

Speaking on ESPN Crcinfo's Time Out, Smith stated that hardly anyone cares about what people are going through on the inside. The veteran revealed his own experiences of dealing with it, stating that he doesn't pay attention.

He said:

"I'd try and just say, to block it out, it's all irrelevant. No one outside knows what you are going through. No one [from outside] is in that change room. Personally, for me, it doesn't bother me. I don't care. I don't pay any attention. You know it's all white noise, but certainly players do hear things and everyone's entitled to their own emotions and how they respond to those."

Smith also believes the noise seems to be affecting Hardik, given he might not have gone through anything like this before. He said:

"So is it affecting him? Maybe. It's possible. He probably hasn't experienced that before in, in any walk of life. So it's natural, I suppose, and particularly being in India and a star Indian player, to be in that position where some fans are booing you, it's certainly something he wouldn't have experienced."

The Baroda-born cricketer is also yet to fire with the bat in the two games. He had the opportunity to win the game for Mumbai against the Gujarat Titans but fell for 11 off four deliveries. The high-scoring contest against the SunRisers Hyderabad saw him perish for 24 off 20 balls.

"It'll be interesting to see what the reception's like in their first home game" - Steve Smith

Steve Smith (Image Credits: Getty)

Smith further said that he understands how enormous a pressure Hardik is under due to the need to fill big shoes, but believes that he can deal with it moving forward. The New South Wales cricketer added:

"Hardik is in the middle of a challenging time, losing the first two games their IPL season. It's a big one for him. He's filling big shoes with Rohit Sharma, who's been the most successful captain [with Dhoni] in IPL history, lifting five titles, and it hasn't started well for him.

"So he's under a little bit of pressure at the moment and it'll be interesting to see what the reception's like in their first home game at Wankhede in a couple of days."

Mumbai Indians will face the Rajasthan Royals in their first home game on April 1.