"Hardik Pandya Maybe Didn't Want To Face...": Irfan Pathan Exposes MI Captain's Blunders
Irfan Pathan was extremely critical of Hardik Pandya after Mumbai Indians' loss to Gujarat Titans in their opening match of IPL 2024.
Former Indian cricket team all-rounder Irfan Pathan was extremely critical of Hardik Pandya after Mumbai Indians' loss to Gujarat Titans in their opening match of IPL 2024. It was the first match as MI captain for Hardik and Pathan believes that he committed couple of major mistakes that ended up costing his side the match. Hardik opened the bowling for his side and ended up conceding 20 runs in the first over. Pathan believed that he should have gone with an experienced asset like Jasprit Bumrah instead.
"Hardik Pandya made big mistakes in the match. In the powerplay, he bowled 2 overs himself, that was a big mistake. He brought Jasprit Bumrah into the attack a bit late," Irfan Pathan said on Instagram.
"And secondly, when they were chasing, they sent Tim David higher up the order. He sent Tim David when Rashid Khan had an over left."
"I felt Hardik Pandya maybe didn't want to face Rashid Khan after having not played cricket for a long time. This could be the case. I won't agree with the fact that there was an experienced Indian batter sitting in the dressing room and sent an overseas player under pressure against Rashid. They missed a trick there," Irfan added.
An inexplicable batting strategy by Mumbai Indians at the death saw Shubman Gill make an auspicious debut as Gujarat Titans captain with a thrilling six-run victory in their opening IPL game on Sunday.
Jasprit Bumrah (3/14) was at his absolute best in his first IPL game in two years, firing in his express yorkers at will to help Mumbai Indians restrict Gujarat Titans to 168/6.
But Bumrah's effort was not enough as batters like Tilak Varma and skipper Hardik Pandya failed to complement his brilliance.
MI ended at 162/9 as things went downhill when all they needed was 43 runs off last five overs with seven wickets in hand.
MI thus failed to break their opening game jinx. The last time they won their IPL opener was against Chennai Super Kings way back in 2012.
(With PTI inputs)
Irfan Pathan
Hardik Pandya
Gujarat Titans
Mumbai Indians