Mumbai, March 29 (IANS): Actor Sonu Sood has come out in support of cricketers and urged fans to respect the players, who have made the country proud.

Sonu’s comments come after cricketer Hardik Pandya, who took the captaincy baton for Mumbai Indians from former captain Rohit Sharma, faced a massive backlash from fans.

Since assuming the role of captain, Pandya has faced heavy trolling and even been booed by cricket enthusiasts in the stadium during IPL 2024 matches.

Without naming any player, Sonu took to X (formerly called Twitter), and wrote: “We should respect our players. Players who made us proud, players who made our country proud. One day you cheer for them, next day you boo them.”

“It’s not they, it’s us who fail. I love cricket. I love every cricketer who represents my country. Doesn’t matter which franchise he plays for. Doesn’t matter whether he plays as a Captain or he’s the 15th man in a team. They are our Heroes,” he added.

After assuming the captaincy, Mumbai Indians, led by Pandya, who previously played for Gujarat Titans, suffered a defeat in their second match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which took place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.