On Hardik Pandya's "Hitting Ability", Irfan Pathan's Unfiltered Criticism

The Indian cricket team's provisional squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 is going to be picked at the end of April. Needless to say, while some names are automatic picks, their form in the IPL 2024 shows a probable picture about their likely form at the T20 World Cup. Keeping that in mind, the first four weeks of the IPL 2024 has raised some concerns. On top of the list is Hardik Pandya's form. As India's no. 1 fast bowling allrounder, Pandya is almost indispensable in the Indian limited over side. 

However, the Mumbai Indians captain's display at the IPL 2024 has been far from satisfactory. Pandya has so far scored only 151 in eight matches at a strike-rate of 142.45. For a middle-order batter like Pandya, those numbers in T20s don't augur well at all. With the ball also he has taken only four wickets in eight matches.

Former Indian cricket team star Irfan Pathan, member of the 2007 T20 World Cup, raised several 

"Hardik Pandya's hitting ability is going down. That's a big worry on a larger picture. At the Wankhede he is different but on pitches where there is little help is what is worrisome for him," Irfan Pathan wrote in a post on X.

Hardik Pandya's hitting ability is going down. That's a big worry on a larger picture. At the wankhede he is different but on pitches where there is little help is what is worrisome for him.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 22, 2024

Recently, former Indian cricket team player Robin Uthappa, also member of the 2007 T20 World Cup winning team, spoke in detail about Hardik Pandya's ordeal on The Ranveer Show. Pandya has been trolled massively since he replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of Mumbai Indians.

""He is a guy who has got the calibre and potential to be an all-time great for Indian team. He was let go by the team which discovered him, he went to another franchise. After winning 3-4 titles with them, he left. He must have felt a little bad; that will be there. He went to GT, won a title and finished runners-up in another. Then the conversation began," Uthappa said.

"The mocking, trolling, the memes about his fitness. You don't think it hurts him? It hurts him. It hurts any human being. How many people actually know the reality of it? Hardik is dealing with mental health issues, for sure. We, as people, I understand, as Indians, we are emotional. But it is not right to impose this kind of treatment on any human being. It is unbecoming as a society for us to do that to someone and be okay with it. We should not be laughing along with it. We should not be forwarding these memes."

Topics mentioned in this article

Hardik Pandya IPL 2024 Mumbai Indians India Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2024 Cricket