Opinion Like LeBron James, Hardik Pandya should embrace being IPL’s villain

LeBron’s embrace of his role, after moving from the Cleveland Cavaliers to Miami Heat, made for sheer, unadulterated entertainment. Hardik too needs to channel the otherworldly talent that he obviously has to become the player that fans don’t simply hate, but love to hate

Hardik Pandya needs to channel the otherworldly talent that he obviously has to become the player that fans don’t simply hate, but love to hate. (Photo: AP)

Arjun Sengupta

April 7, 2024 10:51 PM IST First published on: Apr 7, 2024 at 12:38 PM IST

Fourteen years before Hardik Pandya found himself as Indian cricket’s “most hated man”, a certain American basketball player named LeBron James faced unprecedented vitriol for similar reasons. Much as Hardik’s move from Gujarat to Mumbai has dominated IPL stories this year, in 2010, LeBron’s decision to join Miami Heat, leaving his hometown’s Cleveland Cavaliers, was all anyone was talking about.

Player movement was not uncommon in basketball, but no one of LeBron’s stature and age — he was 26 at the time, just entering his prime — had ever switched teams, of their own will. Old-school basketball fans, accustomed to watching yesteryears’ stars playing their whole career (or most of it) for a single team, saw LeBron as a selfish, disloyal person.

Abuse followed. LeBron’s jerseys were burnt in Cleveland, NBA fans called him a coward for forming a “superteam” with All-Stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, and boos echoed across the arena, wherever he played. Of course, there was a race angle to the controversy as well. As podcaster and former NBA player J J Reddick said in an interview with Wade: “There is a group of fans that are — and will always be — uncomfortable with powerful black men making decisions for themselves.”

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The parallels between LeBron’s and Hardik’s situations are apparent. First, while Hardik was technically not a free agent, by all accounts, he still “asked” for the move. He wanted to leave, and got his wish. Second, like LeBron, Hardik too left his home state’s team, the Gujarat Titans, for IPL’s perennial showstoppers, the Mumbai Indians. Third, much like LeBron was plastered with racist abuse, Hardik’s complexion has led to him being on the receiving end of casteist and colourist insults.

Unlike LeBron, however, Hardik’s own team’s fans too seem to be unhappy with him. From Rohit Sharma stans accusing him of “stealing” Rohit’s captaincy and baying for his blood, to those still upset about the flashy all-rounder’s rather uncordial departure from Mumbai to Gujarat a couple of years back, Hardik has simply not caught a break.

This is all the more reason for Hardik to learn from LeBron’s example. At a time when he was probably America’s most hated man, LeBron did not try to fight that perception. He did not try to “win” over his haters because he knew that that was a battle he would always lose. No number of cringe-inducing commercials or forced smiles during interviews was going to change how fans felt about him.

Whether he liked it or not, LeBron was suddenly the league’s supervillain, and his team the most hated. And that was not necessarily a bad thing. In sports, as in life, the prerequisite for having a good underdog story is a seemingly invincible, evil foe. Every Resistance needs an Empire to go against — and LeBron was unquestionably the NBA’s Darth Vader. Most importantly, he owned his role, even if he may not have cherished it at the time.

LeBron actively put on a bad-guy persona. He was unforgiving on the court, arrogant in interviews, and even managed to keep the gig going in commercials. There was no wanton smiling, laughing or joking around. There was also no headbanging to the arena DJ’s beats while walking out to play (yes, Hardik did that) or paid PR at places of worship (Hardik also did that). Of course, it helped that LeBron was also the best player out there, perhaps the greatest athlete of all time, at his absolute prime.

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LeBron’s embrace of his role made for sheer, unadulterated entertainment. People hate-watched the Miami Heat like Sima Taparia’s Indian Matchmaking, and when Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks upset them in the 2011 NBA Finals, most of America cheered like Christmas had come early. Of course, LeBron went on to win the next two finals — after all, the Empire always strikes back.

The point is, LeBron understood the situation for what it was, and made the most of it, for himself and the game of basketball. Hardik must do the same. It is heartening to see fans reacting so passionately to an offseason move in the IPL — this only means that the league has done well to cultivate fandom, even in its relative nascency. While some of the hate is ugly, this is, and will always remain, an inescapable, even intrinsic, part of sport.

The best course of action for Hardik Pandya is to embrace the hate, and perform to the best of his ability. He needs to channel the otherworldly talent that he obviously has to become the player that fans don’t simply hate, but love to hate.

And eventually, if he absolutely slays on the field, fans will turn once again. Just like they did with LeBron. Today, while still having his fair share of haters, 39-year-old LeBron is one of the NBA’s most adored and well-respected faces. That future might beckon for Hardik as well. It is just not happening now, or any time soon. Hardik must make peace with this fact.

arjun.sengupta@expressindia.com