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Former South African captain AB de Villiers has issued a clarification on his recent comments about Hardik Pandya's leadership as Mumbai Indians captain.
De Villiers expressed frustration that his remarks regarding Hardik's captaincy were misconstrued. He felt his original statement, suggesting Hardik's leadership was taken out of context. This clarification comes after Hardik's captaincy for Mumbai Indians faced criticism during the IPL 2024 season. Under his leadership, the five-time champions had a disappointing run, becoming the second team to be eliminated from IPL 2024's playoff contention. Hardik's return to the captaincy after a two-year absence failed to inspire his team. Some of his decisions also drew criticism from fans and experts.
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AB de Villiers previously discussed Hardik Pandya's captaincy in a YouTube video, offering his unfiltered thoughts on the topic. However, he has recently expressed concerns that these comments were taken out of context by some media outlets.
“I see there is a lot of activity on X about the comments I made about Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians. And it’s a shame that journalism and reporting has got so low (laughs). And I am very happy that some of you have pointed it out, taking some of those comments out and leaving the rest,” De Villiers said in the video.
The former RCB's superstar batter went on to heap praise on Hardik's captaincy and said that he loves the way he spearheads his side.
“I very clearly stated and I will state this again – I absolutely love the way Hardik Pandya plays his game. I love the way he captains. All I can say is, his style of captaincy is something that he has certainly worked on. It’s not something that you can just walk out of the door and you are a brave captain," he added.
“Why I said it’s always not genuine is because I played exactly the same way. I was not the soft-spoken, genuine AB de Villiers that I was at my home. The guy you saw on the field was in a way ‘an act’. Sometimes, you have to put up a front and show the opposition that you are a force to reckon with. That’s what Hardik Pandya does. I love Hardik Pandya, that's what I said. To you reporters out there, I am sorry to burst your bubble,” he concluded.
De Villiers issued clarification after Gautam Gambhir came to Pandya's rescue and lashed out at De Villiers' earlier remarks on the MI captain. Gambhir compared the situation to other successful captains, suggesting challenges faced by leaders like AB de Villiers during his time with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Specifically, Gambhir mentioned that while de Villiers enjoyed individual batting success, team results might not always reflect a captain's overall contribution.
"What was their own performance like when they were the captain? I don't think, be it Kevin Pietersen or AB de Villiers, they had any performance in their career with leadership. Nothing. If you pick and see their records, I think they are worse than any other leader. I don't think AB de Villiers has achieved anything in the IPL apart from his own scores. I don't think he has achieved anything from a team's point of view, Hardik Pandya is still an IPL-winning captain. So you should only compare oranges to oranges. Not apple to oranges," Gambhir said in an interaction with Sportskeeda.
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