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Gautam Gambhir, who is the frontrunner of becoming India's next head coach, offered advice on how Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya could have handled a challenging situation in the recently-concluded IPL 2024. Gambhir suggested that Pandya, as the team leader, should have treated veterans like Rohit Sharma and the younger team members with equal regard, emphasising his role as the leader of the entire dressing room. Hardik Pandya experienced a particularly difficult period during the IPL 2024. Before the season began, the Mumbai Indians franchise made a controversial decision to replace Rohit Sharma with Pandya as captain, announcing this change through a social media post.
This decision sparked significant backlash from fans and cricket experts alike, who criticized the franchise and Pandya for the perceived unfair treatment of Rohit Sharma. Sharma had previously led the Mumbai Indians to five titles, making them the most successful team in the league.
Gautam Gambhir's blunt advice to Hardik Pandya in MI captaincy row
Hardik Pandya faced harsh criticism from the fans during his stint as captain of the Mumbai Indians. He was booed by the crowd whenever he appeared and fans chanted for Rohit Sharma, the previous captain. To make matters worse, his own performance on the field wasn't up to par, and the team finished last in the IPL under his leadership. This treatment of Pandya sparked debate. When asked about Pandya's captaincy, Gautam Gambhir, mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders, weighed in with his opinion. He acknowledged the challenges of leadership but emphasized that tough decisions are part of the job. According to Gambhir, treating players differently undermines a captain's authority and makes them a follower, not a leader. He expressed his views in a video shared by Forbes India
“Look, first and foremost, treat Rohit Sharma and the youngest team, the youngest member of the dressing room exactly the same way. Absolutely exactly the same way. It is a tough job, but that is leaders are bound to take tough decisions and are bound to do difficult things as well. That is why you're the leader. Otherwise, you would end up becoming a follower,” Gambhir said.
"Treat everyone equally, whether someone like Rohit Sharma who leads India in all the formats to winning five championships, for Mumbai Indians, but if you're a leader, then you're a leader for everyone in that dressing room. You don't treat Rohit Sharma differently to someone who is the youngest member in that dressing room," he further added.
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Gautam Gambhir expressed that Hardik Pandya must demonstrate considerable self-belief and bravery to treat both established stars and newcomers with equal fairness. He emphasized that as a captain, Pandya should not apply different standards to different players, explaining that uniformity in treatment is crucial for team leadership.
"And to do that, you need to have a lot of self-belief, a lot of courage as well. And that is for me the first and foremost quality of being a true leader because you're true to the entire squad or entire bunch of people sitting in that dressing room. You cannot have different rules and you cannot have different things for different individuals. Looking at the profile, you do not look at profiles when you want to become a leader. If you want to become a leader, profiles do not matter," he concluded.
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