The man of the match in
ICC T20 World Cup 2007's final against Pakistan, Irfan Pathan has targetted
Mumbai Indians all-rounder and skipper Hardik Pandya once again.
Irfan Pathan, who is currently on commentary duty with Star Sports for
IPL 2024, took to X and bashed Hardik Pandya for making too many mistakes. His tweet came after the Mumbai Indians officially exited from the race to play-offs under the captaincy of Pandya, who has previously won the IPL trophy as captain of the
Gujarat Titans.
Irfan Pathan cryptically takes Rohit Sharma's side in the Rohit Vs Hardik Pandya debacle
Irfan Pathan, who himself has been an all-rounder in his playing days and has never captained any team in his career, seemed to be picking and choosing sides. Amid the massive social media debacle between Hardik Pandya and former MI captain Rohit Sharma, Pathan has cryptically taken the latter's side.
And he did so by using the reference of senior MI pacer Jasprit Bumrah. In his tweet, Irfan Pathan wrote that last season, despite the absence of Bumrah in the team, Mumbai were able to qualify for the playoffs as they were under Rohit Sharma's captaincy.
But this season, regardless of Bumrah's services, MI failed to finish in the top four solely because of Hardik Pandya's fault. Pathan is of the view that Pandya did not manage his team well on the ground and that he made too many mistakes as the captain of the team.
One notable thing here is that these comments are coming from a former all-rounder, who himself has been part of T20 WC and Champions Trophy-winning sides. Yes in cricket, the role of a captain is very important but the captain alone cannot make a team win games.
In Hardik Pandya's case, he did not have the support of his players on the field. The behaviors of Akash Madhwal and others towards their new captain were not acceptable at all. In such a situation, even someone like MS Dhoni will not be able to make a team win.
"The team 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 by their captain Hardik Pandya. It’s the truth." - Irfan Pathan wrote via X.
How did the fans react to Irfan Pathan's tweet?
Fans have not reacted in the way that Irfan Pathan would have expected them to. A lot of people below his post have made comments against him and surprisingly defender Hardik Pandya. One fan asked Irfan Pathan if he saw what happened during the 2022 season when MI had finished at the bottom under Rohit Sharma's captaincy despite the presence of Jasprit Bumrah.
Another fan asked Pathan if he has any personal agenda against Hardik Pandya, for he is constantly highlighting him and not any other player in the team. There was another fan who wrote, "Hardik Pandya played back-to-back finals as a Captain Why don't you talk about someone who is a burden on both Team India and MI?"
What next for Hardik and Rohit?
Mumbai Indians' exit from the IPL 2024 play-offs race is a blessing in disguise. Three of the seniors of the team - Pandya, Rohit, and Bumrah will now fly to the USA much earlier to prepare well for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 where Rohit will have Hardik as his deputy captain. MI's exit from this edition only tells us one thing and that is, "Whatever happens, happens for the good".
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