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Former India's star all-rounder Irfan Pathan has been openly critical of Hardik Pandya's leadership at the helm of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Pathan continued to take pot shot at Hardik Pandya on after Mumbai Indians suffered their third consecutive defeat in IPL 2024, losing to Rajasthan Royals (RR) by six wickets at Wankhede Stadium on April 1.
Irfan Pathan blasts at Hardik Pandya
Following the match, Pathan unleashed a series of tweets scathing Hardik's performance, both as a batsman and a captain. His criticism began early on, targeting Mumbai's batting slump. After electing to bat first, MI found themselves in a precarious position within the first two overs. Trent Boult wreaked havoc, dismissing key players Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, and Dewald Brevis – all for golden ducks. With Nandre Burger adding another wicket by the end of the powerplay, MI's batting order was left in shambles. Despite the early top-order collapse, Mumbai attempted a fightback. Captain Hardik Pandya, did try to steady MI's boat by stitching a 56-run partnership with Tilak Varma but to only see his side crashing to a lowly total. Hardik displayed some much-needed aggression, smashing six boundaries in his rapid-fire 34 runs off just 21 balls. Unfortunately, his promising innings was cut short by Yuzvendra Chahal at the midway point of the innings, leaving Mumbai's recovery effort in jeopardy.
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Meanwhile, after the match, Pathan took to X (previously known as Twitter to criticise Hardik's batting.
“Ppl who understand the game well know this. If you are set, you got to see the team thru,” Pathan wrote on X.
Prior to this match, some of the cricket pundits including Pathan, criticised Hardik for not utilising Jasprit Bumrah effectively in the powerplay. In the first two matches, Bumrah only came on in the fourth over. However, against RR, Hardik seemed to have heard the critiques as he brought Bumrah on as early as the second over, using him three times within the powerplay.
Meanwhile, in another post Pathan wrote:
"Not a rocket science to get your best bowler early on. Finally Bumrah with the new ball. It was forced cos of small total by RR”.
Pathan concluded his barrage of tweets by stating:
“You always want your Leader to do the difficult things. If he doesn’t do it he won’t earn his team’s respect.”
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians remain glued to the bottom of the IPL 2024 points table. Rajasthan Royals on the other hand, have catapulted themselves to the top with a perfect record of three wins, securing a total of six points. Desperate to break their losing streak, Mumbai will return to their home ground, the Wankhede Stadium, for a critical encounter against the Delhi Capitals on Sunday, April 7.
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