Hardik Pandya joined MI to get T20 captaincy for India; BCCI left him confused by naming Rohit Sharma: Former cricketer
Lucknow: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, in Lucknow, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)
Hardik Pandya’s expectations of leading the Indian T20 World Cup team may have influenced his performance in IPL 2024 negatively, according to Basit Ali. The former Pakistan cricketer said it while discussing the challenges faced by Pandya as the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain.
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Ali shared his views through his YouTube channel, highlighting several factors that, in his opinion, have led to Mumbai’s poor performance. MI, with 6 points from 10 games, are in the 9th position on the points table. This year has been one of Mumbai’s worst. By securing more wins, they will try to beat their historical worst in 2022, when they finished at number 10 among 10 teams.
However, Mumbai’s performance has not impressed fans. With a 30% winning rate, Pandya is having a tough time. After all, he replaced Rohit Sharma, who had captained the franchise for 10 years and won 5 IPL titles, with an overall winning percentage of 55.82.
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Pandya had hoped to captain the Indian T20 team for the T20 World Cup but found himself in a difficult position when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Rohit Sharma would continue as the national team captain, Ali said.
“After the 50-over World Cup, Pandya thought he would be the T20 captain of India. That is why he came to Mumbai. But, when BCCI announced that Rohit Sharma would continue to lead India, Pandya was probably confused,” Ali said.
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“This is why his performance was affected. He has been very poor as a captain, and only Rohit Sharma can help him,” he added.
Rohit and Pandya in IPL 2024
Rohit Sharma is enjoying a decent run in the tournament with his bat. He has made 315 runs in 10 innings, with an unbeaten hundred under his name. After playing an equal number of innings, Pandya has made 197 runs. He has also taken 6 wickets.