Hardik Pandya encountered an awful Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season as captain and player for the Mumbai Indians (MI). The all-rounder, who was traded from the Gujarat Titans, replaced Rohit Sharma as MI's captain for the 2024 season. However, his leadership tenure was hampered by substantial dislike from supporters on social media and during MI's matches, which hurt his performance in both bat and bowl.

Amidst this turmoil, Rajasthan Royals' (RR) emerging all-rounder Riyan Parag stepped forward to express his support for Hardik Pandya. Parag, acknowledging Pandya's tough season, declared that he is in no position to offer advice on handling such external pressure. "I'm nowhere near Hardik Pandya," Parag admitted, highlighting the vast gap in experience and stature between the two players.

"I am nowhere near Hardik Pandya, first of all. Hardik has done insane things for our country. People forget that in a jiffy. Hardik has won you games in the World Cup and has won you trophies, so let's not even compare me and Hardik." he added

After the Wankhede game, where RR defeated MI, Parag was seen talking with Pandya. When asked about what the two discussed, Parag detailed that he wanted to know how Pandya tackles the scrutiny and criticism.

"All I was talking with him [Hardik] was how he was dealing with it [scrutiny], how I should be dealing with it if I was in a similar situation and basic cricket in general. That's all I was talking about. He is one of the best cricketers in the world right now."