Hardik Pandya has had a rough ride as captain of the Mumbai Indians. He was booed in Ahmedabad and hammered in Hyderabad. But Pandya will finally hope for home comfort when Mumbai play at the Wankhede for the first time this season as they take on Rajasthan Royals on Monday.

Filling into Rohit Sharma’s shoes is not an easy job and Hardik is finding that out the hard way. Back-to-back losses, plus the scrutiny of every decision he takes as a captain, Hardik is in the hot seat.

But the all-rounder is not one to bow to pressure. Fiercely competitive with a smile always hanging on his face, Hardik loves challenges. Plus he is surely aware of Mumbai’s habit of being slow starters in the IPL. There’s every reason for him to be optimistic about Monday’s match.

Even the opposition think that Hardik has it in him to block the noise and move forward. Rajasthan pacer Trent Boult, a former teammate of Hardik at Mumbai Indians, said: “It is something you cannot control, as professional sportspeople, it is what you are exposed to in a way. You have to block out the white noise and focus on the job, (but) it is easier said than done.”

Backing Hardik, the New Zealander said: “There are a lot of passionate fans in this country and speaking of Hardik specifically, he is one of my favourite Indian cricketers and I do not think the booing will hold out for too long. I am sure, he is one of those guys who can put it aside and focus on the job.”

Hardik can find support within his team as well. Like veteran spinner Piyush Chawla, who said that their captain is only focusing on the game, nothing beyond it. “Well, that (booing) you can’t really help because you know, they are a crowd and whatever they are doing is beyond our control.

“The way Hardik has taken it...he is just focusing on the game, he is not even worried about what the crowd is doing and once we get a win under our belt, things will be totally different.”

That win may not be too far from Mumbai.

The way they threatened to chase down a 270-plus target in their last game, few have doubts about Mumbai’s batting prowess with the likes of Rohit, Hardik, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Verma and Tim David on their ranks. If the bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, can step up too, the Mumbai of old will be back soon.