Hyderabad: Former Indian cricket player Irfan Pathan has raised concerns about Hardik Pandya’s captaincy following the Mumbai Indians match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Irfan Pathan questioned Hardik Pandya about not utilizing Mumbai’s main bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, during the game. Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 31 runs against Mumbai Indians.
Irfan Pathan expressed his dissatisfaction with Hardik Pandya’s decision to delay Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling spell until the 13th over, despite initially asking him to bowl in the fourth over. This decision stirred frustration among fans, who expected Jasprit Bumrah’s early contribution to the Mumbai Indians.
Irfan Pathan remarked on the matter, highlighting his concerns on online platform X and stating that Hardik’s captaincy is just average and nothing special. He added that he still doesn’t understand why Jasprit Bumrah was delayed so much.
The captaincy of Hardik Pandya has been ordinary to say the least. Keeping Bumrah away for too long when the carnage was on was beyond my understanding.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 27, 2024
Despite Jasprit Bumrah’s economical performance, giving only 36 runs in four overs, he failed to secure wickets. This further fueled Irfan Pathan’s criticism of Hardik Pandya’s captaincy strategy.
Additionally, fans expressed disappointment with Hardik Pandya’s performance in the batting lineup. Hardik Pandya, batting in the middle order, struggled to increase the run rate, managing to take only singles in each over. With just one four and one six to his name, Hardik Pandya’s lackluster batting performance added to the mounting pressure on him and his captaincy.
The toss was won by Mumbai Indians’ captain Hardik Pandya, and he chose to bowl first. In the first innings, Sunrisers Hyderabad set a record-breaking target of 276 runs for Mumbai Indians. Sunrisers Hyderabad finished the game by taking five wickets and successfully defended the target, restricting Mumbai Indians to just 246 runs.
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