Irfan Pathan Took A Dig At Hardik Pandya: As the Mumbai Indians faced another defeat under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, doubts emerged regarding the team’s leadership dynamics, particularly concerning the roles of Pandya and Rohit Sharma. Despite Pandya being the official captain, Rohit has often been observed organizing the field and discussing strategies with players during tense moments.
After MI’s poor start against the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match on Monday, commentator Irfan Pathan made a striking observation, suggesting that some players still perceive Rohit as their captain rather than Hardik.
Irfan Pathan Took A Dig At Hardik Pandya
Irfan pointed to footage from the match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, specifically focusing on the moments before the final over. In a widely circulated video on social media, Mumbai Indians pacer Akash Madhwal appeared to be more attentive to Rohit’s tactical instructions, while Hardik seemed to take on a more passive role during the discussion.
Irfan highlighted the incident during the MI vs RR match, suggesting that Madhwal’s deference to Rohit rather than Hardik indicates a potential issue within the team dynamics. He emphasized the need to address this problem promptly.
“Akash Madhwal was there and there was Hardik Pandya. It was a pressure situation and Madhwal was just looking at Rohit Sharma. He was talking only to him regarding setting the field. This happens when you have that confidence ‘he is my captain, not the other guy’. This needs to change and I think Hardik Pandya is capable of doing it,” Irfan Pathan said during commentary on Star Sports during the RR vs MI game on Monday.
Despite the rocky start with the bat against the Rajasthan Royals, the Mumbai Indians managed to post a respectable total of 180 runs, thanks to Tilak Varma and Nihal Wadhera’s contributions. However, Rajasthan, led by Sanju Samson, remained relentless in their chase and successfully chased down the target with 8 balls to spare. Yashasvi Jaiswal emerged as the star performer for Rajasthan, scoring his second century in the IPL.
