Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif believes Hardik Pandya made a blunder by leaving Gujarat Titans. Pandya decided to re-join Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024 and he was given the captaincy onus as he replaced Rohit Sharma at the helm.
However, Pandya had a successful stint with Gujarat Titans, leading the franchise to glory in IPL 2022. Furthermore, the team made it to the final of the tournament in the next edition, IPL 2023. Despite having two successful seasons with GT, Pandya went on to join Mumbai Indians.
In the last three editions, MI was able to qualify for the playoffs on a single occasion and now Pandya has shifted base to Punjab Kings as he was traded with Arshdeep Singh.
“It was a blunder by Hardik to leave GT. I think it was an emotional call. He had a connection with MI, and maybe that drew him back. It is always a tough call. You made GT champions and were the king there. But that decision hurt him. He went backwards in his performance and captaincy. It would be better for him to forget the second part with MI as soon as he can and move forward,” Kaif said in a video on his YouTube channel.
With Shreyas Iyer leading Punjab Kings, Hardik Pandya is not going to have leadership duties. Kaif reckons it would be better for the all-rounder to play without any captaincy onus and he must look to find his best form.
“Many players want captaincy. But a lot of them do not perform well under the pressure of captaincy. It is not everybody’s cup of tea. It is even more difficult in the IPL anyway. It will be good for Hardik that he is not captain. At PBKS, he should look to regain his form as a batter, a bowler, and a finisher. There is no doubt that he is a great player. So it is good that he is not the captain. He can focus on his game. Being an all-rounder and a captain is all the more difficult,” the former RCB batter reflected.
IPL 2027 auction will be held in Goa in mid-December.
