Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya in action during IPL 2024© BCCI
The decision taken by Mumbai Indians to appoint Hardik Pandya as the captain in place of Rohit Sharma ahead of IPL 2024 was not accepted by a section of their fanbase. Hardik, who completed a sensational trade from Gujarat Titans, ended Rohit’s ten-year tenure as skipper but the fans were not happy with the decision and he was booed at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Things did not improve as Mumbai Indians have won just three out of their eight matches and are fighting an uphill battle in the race for the IPL 2024 playoffs. During a discussion on Cricbuzz, former New Zealand international Simon Doull and legendary Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist were asked to rate Hardik’s captaincy this season and both of them were not quite convinced with how he has led the side till now.
“It is a tough thing to come and take over a franchise that is so storied and successful. He obviously had good captaincy skills at Gujarat, you don’t lose those. I think he is growing into it but he’s still got work to do,” said Doull.
“I am not seeing him strategically getting it right. I think some batting positional changes, some bowling changes at certain times, just overall strategy, I don’t think as captain he’s quite got it right,” Gilchrist added.
Earlier, six-time IPL winner Ambati Rayudu opened up about the chances of Hardik making his spot in the India squad for the T20 World Cup 2024.
“Both of them are not competing for the same spot. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are finishers in the Indian team, and Shivam Dube is the kind of batter who comes in at No. 4 or 5. When the spinners are operating and conditions are slow, he can hit boundaries and accelerate to change the game. But between overs 16 and 20, Dube’s strike rate isn’t that high, he fails to hit that many runs. So I feel Hardik and Jadeja have that role in the Indian team,” Rayudu said on Star Sports.
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