File photo of Hardik Pandya© AFP
It has been a disappointing IPL 2024 campaign for Hardik Pandya till now with the all-rounder facing heavy criticism both as a player and captain. Hardik ended Rohit Sharma's 10-year tenure as Mumbai Indians skipper after completing a sensational trade from Gujarat Titans but the move was not accepted well by a section of the fanbase. Things did not improve as MI won just three out of their 10 matches and Hardik was booed even by the home crowd at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Following MI's loss against Lucknow Super Giants on Thursday, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali said that it has been the mindset that has led to MI's fall in IPL 2024 and added that Pandya's performance has not been good.
Basit Ali also believes that Hardik was affected by the decision taken by BCCI to continue with Rohit as the T20I captain after the Cricket World Cup 2023. He thinks that Hardik believed that he will become the T20 captain and his performance has been poor since losing the India captaincy.
"Mumbai Indians lost another match, but I think the mindset has cost them. The way Pandya was made captain before the start of the season, plus Pandya's performance, has also not been up to the mark this year. These factors have contributed to MI's downfall," Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel.
"After the culmination of the 50-over World Cup, Pandya thought he would be the T20 captain of India, and that is why he came to Mumbai. But when BCCI announced that Rohit Sharma will continue leading India, Pandya was probably confused. This is why his performance was affected. He has been very poor as a captain, and only Rohit Sharma can help him," Ali concluded.
MI need to win all of their matches and depend on other results to qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs.
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