MI senior members reportedly questioned Hardik Pandya’s leadership of the five-time champions, according to a recent report.
A recent report revealed that the Mumbai Indians camp may not have a positive atmosphere currently, potentially due to the leadership of Hardik Pandya. According to the report, some of the more experienced members of MI have expressed doubts about how the five-time champions are being managed under their new captain. Interestingly, MI is now the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention in this year’s IPL, which is quite a change from their usual domination in past seasons. Additionally, key players on the team supposedly feel that Hardik Pandya’s leadership has caused a decrease in energy and enthusiasm within the dressing room.
“The performance of MI has been disappointing. My initial prediction was that they would make it to the knockout stages, but unfortunately that has not come to fruition. The team’s track record in the past four seasons is as follows: 5th place in 2021, 10th in 2022, 4th in 2023 and 9th. While their last game showed improvement, it was not enough to turn things around. In response to the captaincy issue, Rohit Sharma shared his thoughts on his YouTube channel saying, ‘Having played under various captains before, this situation is nothing new for me. I simply focus on doing my job and have been doing so for the past month.’ One can draw their own conclusions from his statement.”
Hardik Pandya’s captaincy style has a certain bravado to it, with an ego-driven approach and a chest-out attitude. However, it may not always reflect his true self on the field. Nevertheless, he has chosen this as his way of leading the team. It is reminiscent of someone like MS Dhoni – cool, calm, collected, always smiling with his chest puffed out. However, when playing with more experienced players who have been around for a long time, this type of leadership might not be as effective. It seemed to work well with the younger team at GT though. Inexperienced players often look up to and emulate this kind of leadership style.
With the likes of Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah in the side, De Villiers suggested that may not have been the best strategy.
When reminiscing about my time in cricket, I can’t help but think of Graeme Smith and his leadership for the team. As a young player, all I had to do was follow his lead. Now, there are players like Rohit and Bumrah who have a similar mindset. They simply ask me to remain composed and offer my insight on how to win matches; they don’t want any grand gestures or showing off. Please don’t misunderstand me, I have no issue with Hardik’s style of play – I actually enjoy watching him in action. In fact, I used to do the same thing – as a batsman, sometimes you have to fake confidence in order to truly feel it. When faced with fear or pressure on the field, I couldn’t afford to be timid or soft-spoken as AB de Villiers. The only way to combat that was by puffing out my chest and making eye contact with the opposition. If things didn’t go well, I would have to accept defeat and move on. But if we were successful in our endeavors, it only added to our belief and self-assurance,” explained de Villiers.
You know what? You fake it, and we’ll follow. I don’t think that’s worked so far for MI. Don’t forget, I’m just guessing. That doesn’t mean it’s true.”
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