DC vs MI: Hardik Pandya accused of uttering nonsense by Rohit Sharma's favorite bowler

Former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn expressed his frustration with players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for being overly careful in their post-match interviews and not displaying genuine emotions following the team’s wins or losses.

Steyn has indirectly criticized Mumbai Indians (MI) captain and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who remained composed during the post-match interview despite his team’s massive 9-wicket defeat in an IPL 2024 clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Monday, April 22, in Jaipur.

During the post-match interview, Pandya was asked about his sentiments over the massive defeat against the table-toppers, RR, to which the MI skipper responded with a smile, saying that it wasn't the right time to criticize players as everyone in the team was a professional.

Dale Steyn is not happy with the current trend in IPL

Dale Steyn feels that Hardik’s response reveals the common trend among players to hide their emotions by using phrases such as 'trusting the process' and 'sticking to the basics' rather than expressing their true feelings in front of media and fans.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Steyn urged Pandya and other cricketers to embrace authenticity and show genuine emotions after matches rather than sticking to scripted responses. He wants players to be more transparent and real in their interactions with the media and fans.

Dale Steyn wrote on X after the RR vs MI IPL 2024 match: “I really look forward to the day players might say what’s honestly on their mind. Instead, we somehow dumbed ourselves and our minds into saying the usual safe thing, lose the next game, smile and then repeat that nonsense again.”

I really look forward to the day players might say what’s honestly on their mind. Instead we some how dumbed ourselves and our minds into saying the usual safe thing, lose the next game, smile and then repeat that nonsense again. 🙄

PS. Qdk, I love you

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) April 22, 2024

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya said at the post-match presentation: “Overall, we did not put the right foot in the park and eventually, they outplayed us. After the game, it's not the right time to go to the players, everyone is professional, they know their roles. What we can do is learn from this game and the mistakes which we have made, rectify it and make sure that we don't make it. Progression is very important. Within the team, individually, we will have to accept our flaws and maybe work on those.”

RR vs MI Match in Brief

Speaking about the game, the Mumbai Indians (MI) won the toss and opted to bat first against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). On the back of Tilak Varma’s 64 runs and Nehal Wadhera’s 49 runs, the five-time IPL champions managed to post 179/9 on the board against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur.

Defending the total, MI badly failed to deliver with the ball, as Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten century was enough to take the RR over the line inside 19 overs with 9 wickets to hand in the IPL 2024 clash at their home turf on Monday.

However, Jos Buttler (35) and Sanju Samson (38*) also contributed to RR’s massive win over the MI in Jaipur. With this win, RR strengthened their position at the top of the IPL 2024 points table with 14 points, while MI remained at the 7th spot in the table with 6 points from 8 games so far in the league.

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