Star Australian batter Steve Smith, who himself endured being labelled a "cheat" by fans during the 2019 ODI World Cup in England, empathises with Hardik's current situation. He believes that the barrage of abuse Hardik Pandya is facing from his own Indian fans at home will likely come as a significant surprise to him. Hardik, who took over the captaincy from five-time IPL-winning captain Rohit Sharma this season, faced a challenging start to his leadership tenure as Mumbai Indians suffered consecutive defeats.
