RR vs KKR: AB de Villiers' achievements questioned as Gautam Gambhir attacks Virat Kohli's best friend for targeting Hardik Pandya
Published - 14 May 2024, 04:38 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:11 AM
Recently, former South Africa captain and RCB player AB de Villiers targetted Hardik Pandya over his leadership of Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. Responding to the same, Gautam Gambhir slammed AB de Villiers.
De Villiers had questioned Hardik Pandya's body language in a match as he took the field to lead Mumbai Indians. Pandya parted ways with Gujarat Titans to join MI in IPL 2024. Pandya was also handed over the captaincy by MI management.
Mumbai Indians have given a miserable show in IPL 2024. With one more game to go, they are already out of the race to playoffs. They started the tournament with two back-to-back defeats.
Gautam Gambhir targets AB de Villiers
During a conversation with Sportskeeda, KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir attacked AB de Villiers over his comments about Hardik Pandya. Gambhir said Villiers never performed when he was the skipper.
"What was his own performance when he was the captain? I don't think, be it Kevin Pietersen or AB de Villiers, they had any performance in their career with leadership. Nothing if you pick and see their records", he said.
"I don't think AB de Villiers has achieved anything in the IPL apart from his own scores. I don't think he has achieved anything from a team's point of view," he further said.
Gambhir also backed Hardik Pandya and urged everyone to give him some more time.
"Give him (Hardik) a bit more time. Judging him everyday in every match and everytime is not right. Those experts should see their own performances when they have captained a side", the former KKR skipper said.
"It's probably worse than any other leader. Ultimately its the performance and today Mumbai Indians have not performed well so everyone is talking about it," he further added.
MI has won 4 games and lost 9
Mumbai Indians have won 4 games and lost 9 out of 13 in IPL 2024. With 8 points, they take the second-last spot in the points table. They have been eliminated from the playoffs.
Hardik Pandya has also struggled with his performance. In 12 innings, he has piled up 138 runs at an average of 18.18. He has got 11 wickets at a high economy of 10.58.
Mumbai will next face Lucknow Super Giants in the match 67 of IPL 2024. The encounter takes place at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, May 17. It is MI's last match in the tournament.
