Following Mumbai Indians' (MI) loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan suggested that there is a lack of respect in the dressing room for captain Hardik Pandya. With eight defeats in 11 matches, Hardik has endured a disastrous first season in IPL as MI captain. Irfan, who has been critical of Hardik since the start of the season, once again questioned the tactics of the MI captain. He pointed out how Hardik gave the ball to Naman Dhir when KKR were tottering at 57/5.
Irfan said that Hardik's decision allowed KKR to rebuild their innings with the help of Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey, who was playing his first game of the season.
"Mumbai Indians' story ends here. This team was so good on paper, but it wasn't managed. The questions that were raised on Hardik Pandya's captaincy were absolutely right. When you've restricted KKR to 57/5, you didn't have to give Naman Dhir three successive overs. You had to bring your main bowlers, and you gave your sixth bowler three overs. Manish Pandey and Venkatesh Iyer posted a strong partnership. You could've bowled them out on 150 instead you let them score 170," Irfan said in a viral video.
Irfan further suggested that the MI players don't respect Hardik as captain, which has further hampered the team this season.
"Captaincy has a big impact in the game. Mumbai Indians don't look like a united team, and management needs to consider this. Players need to respect and accept the captain, and we didn't see that on-field. They have to improve in that aspect," he added.
The win helped KKR retain their second position in the table but now with 14 points to their credit from 10 games. Meanwhile, MI remained at the 9th spot with 6 points after playing 11 games. However, mathematically Mumbai Indians are still alive in the race to playoffs. They need to win their remaining three matches and hope for favourable results from other games to end at top 4.
MI remaining games are against SRH, KKR and LSG on May 6, 11 and 17, respectively.