[Watch] Sanjay Manjrekar tells Wankhede crowd to 'behave' while introducing Hardik Pandya at toss during MI vs RR clash of IPL 2024

The Mumbai Indians (MI) captaincy saga involving Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma was one of the big talking points leading up to the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2024).

Disappointed with Sharma's unceremonious removal, several fans expressed their displeasure by booing new MI skipper Pandya in the last two games. Things didn't change when he walked out for the toss for Mumbai's first home game of the season against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

Interestingly, cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar even told the Wakhede crowd to behave and give Hardik Pandya a big round of applause while introducing the two captains.

"Big round of applause to Mumbai Indians Captain Hardik Pandya, and behave," Manjrekar said.

It is worth mentioning that Rohit Sharma remains one of the most successful captains in the league's history, leading Mumbai to five IPL titles during his stint.

Pandya parted ways with MI to join Gujarat Titans (GT) ahead of the 2022 mega auction. He had a successful run as Gujarat captain. Under him, the side won the championship in their maiden edition in 2022 and finished runners-up in 2023.

The talismanic all-rounder returned to Mumbai after being traded from Gujarat in an all-cash deal. Pandya's captaincy has come under the scanner, with MI suffering back-to-back losses in their first two outings of IPL 2024.

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Hardik Pandya and company to bat first as RR win the toss and chose to field first

Sanju Samson won the toss for Rajasthan and elected to field first. Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya also mentioned that he would have also chosen to bowl first on this pitch.

Pandya said after losing the toss:

"We were planning to bowl first. It's quite exciting to be a part of this game. We always look forward to the future, need to follow the process. Looking forward to playing a brand of cricket everyone enjoys. Playing the same team."

Here are the two playing XIs for the MI vs RR clash:

RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (wk/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

MI: Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kwena Maphaka.