Former South Africa captain and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star batter Ab de Villiers shared his thoughts on Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya's captaincy style in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Hardik Pandya's captaincy has been questioned after MI officially became the first team to get knocked out of the playoffs race in the IPL 2024. After taking replacing five-time IPL winning skipper Rohit Sharma ahead of the season, the star all-rounder experienced a disappointing campaign in the IPL 2024.
After Mumbai Indians eliminated from the tournament, the reports emerged that the senior players in the camp were unhappy with the captaincy of Hardik Pandya.
'Ego-Driven, Chest Out': Ab de Villiers's on Hardik's Captaincy
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ab de Villiers reckons that Hardik Pandya's captaincy style might be the reason behind the MI's dismal run in the IPL 2024. He added that Pandya's ego-driven style of captaining the side might not relate well with senior players in the team.
"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.
Mumbai Indians management's decision to appoint Hardik Pandya as a captain by replacing their most successful skipper Rohit Sharma received severe backlash from the fans as many questioned the morale behind the sacking of the latter despite leading the team to a record IPL titles.
Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans to consecutive IPL finals in 2022 and 2023, winning the latter edition of the tournament to become the second after Rajasthan Royals (2008) to win the IPL title in the debut season.
Hardik Pandya's captaincy worked at GT, feels Ab de Villiers
Ab de Villiers thought that Hardik Pandya's captaincy worked at Gujarat Titans as it suited him because there were young players in the team. He added that inexperienced players at GT loved to follow Pandya's 'ego-driven' leadership.
"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 on his YouTube channel.
Under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, Gujarat Titans performed well in the last two seasons of the IPL. After Pandya left GT for Mumbai Indians, the captaincy was handed over to Shubman Gill ahead of the IPL 2024.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians are currently at the eighth spot on the points table with four wins in their 12 outings and accumulated 8 points so far.
