Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has slammed Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, saying if he doesn’t do difficult things, he won’t earn his team’s respect. Mumbai suffered their third straight loss under Pandya’s captaincy, succumbing to a 6-wicket loss against Rajasthan. The all-rounder replaced Rohit Sharma is Mumbai’s captain for the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League following his successful stint at Gujarat, where he led the team to the IPL title in 2023 and took them all the way to the final last season.
Following Mumbai’s loss against Rajasthan at the Wankhede Stadium, Pathan took to social media platform ‘X’, saying Pandya won’t earn the team’s respect if he doesn’t do difficult things. He also criticized Pandya’s use of star-bowler Jasprit Bumrah, saying it’s not rocket science to use your best bowler early on.
“You always want your Leader to do the difficult things. If he doesn’t do it he won’t earn his team’s respect,” Pathan posted on ‘X’.
Rajasthan restricted Mumbai to 125 for 9 in the first innings before chasing the under-par target down with 6 wickets and 27 balls remaining. It’s been a tough start for Pandya as MI’s captain, losing the first three matches of IPL 2024 while being constantly booed by crowds wherever he goes. Pandya faced the crowd’s wrath in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and in Mumbai as well.
