Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2024 campaign went from poor to worse as the five-time champions slumped to their seventh loss in 10 games on Tuesday. With the defeat, MI’s hopes of entering are all but over. Since the start of the IPL 2024, MI have been battling several issues. The captaincy change from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya is probably the biggest of them all. Since that decision, even the MI faithful seemed to have turned against their own favourite team. That MI have been on a losing streak, hasn’t helped matters either.
On Tuesday, MI batters put up yet another shambolic display as they could manage just 144/7 in 20 overs. Captain Hardik Pandya was out for duck while Rohit Sharma was out on 4. LSG chased down the target in 19.2 overs with four wickets left.
After the match, Irfan Pathan, member of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup-winning side, blamed Hardik Pandya for MI’s horrible display.
“The team mumbai Indians that qualified last year didn’t had Jasprit Bumrah but this season they had his services. Still they are in this situation. Purely because the team wasn’t managed well on the ground. Too many mistakes by their captain Hardik Pandya. It’s the truth,” Irfan Pathan wrote on X.
Speaking on Star Sports, former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta spoke on whether Hardik Pandya’s poor form in the IPL will be a factor in his selection in the T20 World Cup squad: “Not that much. I don’t think so. I mean, obviously, the IPL is a very important tournament, but you’ve to also keep in mind about the credit they have achieved in the past, how they’ve done in the past, and I think Hardik has done alright.
“We’ve seen him bat down the order, and that’s where he will be expected to bat. He’s played a couple of good innings; he’s bowled alright. I’m not going to be too worried with what he’s done so far in the IPL. I think he’s a match winner both with the bat and at times with the ball as well. But just with the four spinners, it also kind of premeditates the kind of pitches that we may expect in the Caribbean. We may see the pitches that help the spinners more.”
