Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin slammed Hardik Pandya’s captaincy after Mumbai Indians suffered a 103-run loss against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Thursday.
Ashwin questioned Pandya for giving the ball to rookie pacer Krish Bhagat and not bowling himself in the death overs against CSK. Bhagat conceded 31 runs in two overs he bowled, including 16 runs in the final over of the innings.
Meanwhile, Pandya was himself expensive as he returned with figures of 0-38 in the two overs he bowled in the Powerplay. Ashwin recalled Pandya’s last over in the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa when he successfully defended 16 runs.
“With Hardik Pandya, I don’t have any personal relationship with him, but I always feel that he is a box office player. It is easy to say things about Hardik Pandya now, but today, when he gave Krish Bhagat the final over, I admit that Pandya went for 38 runs in two overs. But if a player can bowl the final over of the 2024 T20 World Cup against David Miller, you can bowl this too, right?” R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“Krish Bhagat does not have that much experience, I like how he bowled, he did not do too badly, but Pandya can take up that pressure. What’s the worst that will happen?” he added.
On the other hand, Ashwin said Pandya has too many things to handle, and it is not easy to do it all as a leader.
“What happened to Hardik Pandya after he came to MI after the trade, was too much for an individual to handle. You replaced a great like Rohit Sharma, and got booed by his own fans in his own stadium. That is a lot to deal with emotionally; it is a lot to handle. You are only as good as your team as a captain,” R Ashwin explained.
Ashwin also questioned Pandya’s decision to bowl first against CSK after winning the toss.
“I still think CSK were short, but what can I say about Mumbai? There is nothing that this team lacks. The form of MI this year, you cannot afford to keep Will Jacks out. So, it was really underwhelming. Hardik Pandya, after winning the toss, put a team into bat first that have done well while batting first, you gave the match to them on a plate,” he concluded.
Mumbai Indians will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Wednesday.
