Questions have arisen regarding Hardik Pandya's leadership after MI became the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs race in IPL 2024.
Former South African captain and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star batsman AB de Villiers recently shared his insights on Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya's captaincy style in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Questions have arisen regarding Hardik Pandya's leadership after MI became the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs race in IPL 2024. Taking over from the five-time IPL winning skipper Rohit Sharma at the start of the season, the star all-rounder had a disappointing campaign this year.
Following Mumbai Indians' exit from the tournament, reports surfaced suggesting that senior players within the team were dissatisfied with Hardik Pandya's captaincy.
During a discussion on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers suggested that Hardik Pandya's captaincy style could be a contributing factor to MI's poor performance in IPL 2024. He mentioned that Pandya's ego-driven approach to leading the team may not resonate well with the senior players.
"Hardik Pandya's captaincy style is quite bravado. It's ego-driven in a way, chest out, but when you play with a lot of experienced players who've been around for ages, they don't buy into that." Former RCB batter said.
"I don’t think how he walks on the field is always genuine, but he has decided that is his way of captaincy." he added.
The decision by Mumbai Indians management to appoint Hardik Pandya as captain, replacing their highly successful skipper Rohit Sharma, has sparked significant backlash from fans. Many have questioned the reasoning behind removing Sharma, who led the team to multiple IPL titles.
Pandya's leadership experience includes guiding the Gujarat Titans to consecutive IPL finals in 2022 and 2023, ultimately winning the latter edition of the tournament. This achievement makes him only the second captain, after the Rajasthan Royals in 2008, to win the IPL title in their debut season.
AB de Villiers believed that Hardik Pandya's captaincy was effective at Gujarat Titans because it was well-suited for the young players on the team. He noted that the inexperienced players at GT were drawn to Pandya's assertive leadership style.
"It (Hardik Pandya's captaincy) worked at GT, where it was a younger team. Sometimes, inexperienced players love to follow that kind of leadership.” de Villiers said.
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 "'It's ego-driven...': Ex-RCB star on Hardik Pandya's captaincy in IPL 2024")
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