MUMBAI: At a time when he has been the target of abuse in stadiums and on social media after replacing
Rohit Sharma
as the Mumbai Indians captain,
Hardik Pandya
has received some encouragement from the rival camp.
Ahead of MI's first home game of the season, against the Rajasthan Royals at the
Wankhede Stadium
on Monday, the Jaipur-based side's speedster
Trent Boult
went gaga in his praise for the India allrounder, calling him one of his "favourite Indian cricketers".
"He's (Pandya) a quality player, he hits boundaries, and is a match winner. I've played a lot against him in franchise cricket as well as in India vs
New Zealand
contests. He's a phenomenal player who can take on the best bowlers on any given day," Boult said.
Teammate
Piyush Chawla
on Sunday said: "He is just focused on the game, he is not worried what the crowd is doing and once we get a win under our belt things will be totally different."
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