Besides a hat-trick of defeats — vs Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals, Hardik has also faced a backlash from the fans who have been upset about the change in captaincy and the team’s sorry run.
Hardik was traded-in by MI ahead of the current edition from Gujarat Titans where he led the team for two seasons, including a title win in 2022.
Talking about the captaincy issue and MI’s winless run so far, former India batsman Manoj Tiwary shared his two cents on Cricbuzz.
“It can happen,” said Tiwary on the chances of Rohit being made the captain again.
“…Whatever little I understand, these franchises and owners, they don’t hesitate in taking calls. They had started it when they took the captaincy from Rohit and gave it to Hardik. Now it’s pretty big when you change a captain who has won you five titles. And now that they haven’t won a single game and the captaincy also looks jaded, mistakes are happening,” said Tiwary.
“It (Hardik opting to not bowl in home game vs Rajasthan) is a clue that Hardik is under pressure. If he is not bowling, having bowled in the first two games, and in conditions where there was swing on offer in both first and second innings, I think he felt the pressure with the kind of reception he received.
“I have this feeling that during this break (MI next play on April 7), Rohit Sharma could be given back the captaincy from Hardik Pandya,” Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.
Tiwary also pointed at the confused mind of Hardik, talking about the decisions he has been taking on and off the field.
“SRH scored 277, but look at the changes in bowling. Shams Mulani came on to bowl the last over, (Jasprit) Bumrah was brought in the 13th over. There is no stability in the batting order. No one has a permanent slot. Sometimes Tilak Varma goes to bat higher, sometimes Dewald Brevis…It’s very average captaincy, so I feel this call (making Rohit captain again) needs to be taken, purely based on a cricketing aspect. The (team) atmosphere doesn’t look right either,” Tiwary added.
MI’s next match is a home game against Delhi Capitals in Mumbai this Sunday.