Irfan Pathan Blames Hardik Pandya For MI Woes: Former Indian cricketer and now commentator Irfan Pathan believes that a major reason behind the Mumbai Indians’ poor performance this season has been the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, as the star-allrounder has made several tactical errors on the field.
MI is currently ninth on the IPL 2024 table with just three wins and six points in 10 matches. Even a win in every game from this point on will not secure them a playoff spot on their own merit.
There was a lot of controversy when Pandya was brought back to MI to be the new captain of the side after two successful seasons leading the Gujarat Titans. The majority of the franchise’s fans want Rohit Sharma to be captain once again, and they never even gave Hardik a chance to prove himself.
And it seems that all that pressure got to the 30-year-old, as not only has his personal game taken a hit this season, but he has also made questionable decisions as the team captain. From opening bowling to pushing players up and down the order on a whim.
Irfan Pathan Blames Hardik Pandya For MI Woes
Irfan Pathan, who has commentated on every IPL 2024 game for Star Sports, has highlighted how Hardik Pandya has messed up with his tactics at several points this season.
Commenting on how Pandya’s management of star bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been poor, Pathan said,
“The team of Mumbai Indians that qualified last year didn’t have Jasprit Bumrah, but this season they had his services. Still, they are in this situation. Purely because the team wasn’t managed well on the ground. Too many mistakes were made by their captain, Hardik Pandya. It’s the truth.”
Irfan Pathan went so far as to call Hardik a weak link in the team.
“The Mumbai Indians are still a very good team on paper but are being managed very poorly. Especially if Hardik Pandya, as a leader, lacks form, he will become a weak link for his own team. What I am most worried about is that he is affecting his own hitting abilities. This is a matter of concern, even for the Indian team.” Irfan Pathan told Star Sports.
Apart from all the errors as a captain, Hardik Pandya is also having one of the worst IPL seasons of his career. In 10 matches played so far, the captain has scored 197 runs with an average of 21.89 and a strike rate of 150.38. Mind you, these numbers have picked up in the last couple of matches.
As for his bowling, he has taken six wickets this season in 23 overs with an average of 42.17 and an economy of 11.
Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in their next match on May 3 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
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