Mohammed Shami calls Hardik Pandya 'tailender' in a fresh attack on MI captain

Veteran Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami criticized Hardik Pandya following the Mumbai Indians (MI) defeat against the Gujarat Titans (GT). Mohammed Shami suggested that Hardik Pandya should have taken more responsibility as captain in the recent match.

The Mumbai-based franchise suffered a narrow 6-run loss in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 24. Despite being in a winning position at one stage, the visiting team failed to secure victory in the match.

Mumbai found themselves in a strong position, needing only 48 runs from the final six overs with seven wickets remaining. However, the Gujarat Titans’ bowlers turned the game around by taking six wickets, leading to Mumbai’s unexpected defeat by just six runs.

Hardik Pandya Was As Good As A Tailender – Mohammed Shami

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Mohammed Shami suggested that Hardik Pandya should have batted higher in the order. Shami believed that if Hardik had batted earlier, the outcome of the match could have been different.

“Left right bahut chalta. Mujhe nahi samajh aati yeh cheezein. As a captain, aap ek step aage rahiye. Aapko sochna chahiye ki agar mein kisi aur ko zimmedari deta hu, toh yeh zimmedari mujhe uthani chahiye. As a captain, aapko zimmedari zyaada leni chahiye. Jaha tak Hardik ka sawaal tha, yaar aapne Gujarat ke team mein 3 no batting ki hai. 4 no batting ki hai. Aap ko yaha 4-5 no. pe aani ki kya dikkat hai. 7 no. Hardik samjho tailender ho gaye. 7 no. pe aana matlab aap apne upar pressure le rahe ho. Hardik aage aaya hota toh game waha tak jaata hi nahi,”Shami said.

(Left-right combination works a lot nowadays, but I don’t understand this. As a captain, you should remain one step ahead. You should take more responsibility. In Gujarat, Hardik batted at no.3 and no.4. Hence, it should not have been a problem for him to come in at no.4 or 5 for MI. Hardik was as good as a tailender at no.7, and he took a lot of pressure upon himself. If Hardik would have come earlier, it would have finished much earlier.)

Hardik Pandya Batted At No.7 Position vs Gujarat Titans

Hardik Pandya entered the batting lineup at number seven, following Tim David and Tilak Varma. Spencer Johnson delivered remarkable bowling in the penultimate over, conceding only 8 runs and taking two crucial wickets, including Tilak and Gerald Coetzee.

The MI skipper struck a six and a four when they needed 19 runs off the final over of the match. However, the all-rounder fell victim to Umesh Yadav on the third ball. Umesh conceded only two runs off the last three balls and dismissed Piyush Chawla on the fourth ball.

The Mumbai Indians lost their opening game, continuing a trend seen in every IPL calendar year. Remarkably, this marks their 12th consecutive loss, with their last victory in an opening encounter dating back to 2012.

The Mumbai-based team will next face SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, March 27.

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