Former England spinner Graeme Swann reckons we shouldn’t say Hardik Pandya is not a good captain just because he lost his cool against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday. Pandya was seen fuming at veteran pacer Mohammed Shami when the latter didn’t go for a catch after Rahul Tripathi played an uppercut shot to the third man.
The Gujarat Titans skipper was also not happy with young player Sai Sudharasan when he failed to defend two runs as Pandya wanted him to attack the ball. The Titans had won their first three matches and Pandya was seen to be frustrated when he was put under pressure as a leader.
However, Swann believes Gujarat Titans lost the game as they could not get enough runs on the board and not because of Pandya’s captaincy. In fact, Pandya was criticized by a lot of fans on social media after his outburst against Mohammed Shami went viral.
“I will tell you what we shouldn’t do though. We shouldn’t look at it and say all of a sudden Hardik is not a good captain. The fact that they did not score enough runs lost them the game, not Hardik Pandya’s captaincy. He shuffled his packs quite well but of course, your nerves get a bit fried as a skipper or a bowler (in tense situations). It was not Hardik’s captaincy but the lack of runs that cost them,” Swann told Star Sports.
On the other hand, former Australian opener Matthew Hayden believes Mohammed Shami should have gone for the catch as it was a pivotal moment in the game. GT had posted only 162 runs on the board and it was important for them to take wickets at regular intervals.
“I reckon this was a really pivotal moment in the match, he was bowling at a good speed. Mohammed Shami was on the boundary and he made no effort. In fact, he retreated back to the boundary I won’t say he avoided the catch necessarily.” Hayden said.
“He really needed to go harder inside the boundary. When you are not defending much, it’s about really working hard for your mates, and taking the effort catches and make the plays. Be it run-out or catches or just assists, in general, to stop a batter from scoring boundaries,” he added.
Gujarat Titans will next face Rajasthan Royals at the Dr. DY Sports Academy, Mumbai on Thursday.
