All-rounder Hardik Pandya faced backlash from the fans on social media because of one of his comments during the press conference on Saturday. He will be leading the Indian team on the tour of Ireland in the T20I series. The first of the two T20Is will take place on Sunday, June 26 in Dublin (Malahide). This T20I match will mark Hardik Pandya’s captaincy debut for the Indian team at the International level.
During the press conference on the eve of the first T20I, Hardik Pandya credited MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli for shaping his captaincy skills. He stated that he applies the things that he has learned from the duo. The all-rounder added that he also tries to be natural as a leader. Hardik Pandya said,
“I have taken lots of things from Kohli and Dhoni – at the same time, I wanted to be natural as a captain. I like to be practical and take decisions that way.”
While Hardik Pandya’s statement was intended to praise Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, some fans were unhappy as the all-rounder did not mention Rohit Sharma. Hardik Pandya played under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy when he was in the Mumbai Indians. The fans took to social media to criticize Hardik Pandya’s comment. However, some fans also backed the all-rounder, calling out the criticizers.
Let’s take a look at how the fans reacted:
"Hardik Pandya's contribution to MI will never be forgotten" was what Rohit Sharma said when I asked him about Hardik during IPL.
Maybe whatever Hardik said is been taken out of context. But if there's even one percent of ignorance on purpose, it's just sad. #CricketTwitter
— Anuj Nitin Prabhu 🏏 (@APTalksCricket) June 26, 2022
Hardik Pandya naming Kohli and Dhoni in every fkin' interview and ignoring Rohit, whom he praised a lot an year ago…looks like guy is craving for some fans and attention. He is doing in intentionally 💯
— Mohit (@MohitRohitian) June 26, 2022
Rohit ki baat nhi boli and kiran more sir k baare me bhi nhi jisne scout kia tha hardik from now you are not the same to me 🤒🤒 https://t.co/8QJrHnICrv
— Soumyadip Dutta🇮🇳💙 (@SoumyaTweets6) June 25, 2022
Hardik is nothing compared to Goat Rohit Sharma
— Aman Goswami (@AmanTheomastix7) June 25, 2022
https://twitter.com/imugly100/status/1540960213733412867?s=20&t=dE2HjsH51i-sllvd8p3mew
Thank God MI didn't retained him🙏 https://t.co/7Zx1wV2iz1
— RuhᎥ. (@rohitian___45) June 25, 2022
Never showing gratitude to the person who backed you at the earliest stage of your career and disrespecting him will definitely hit you hard hardik! Shame on you for behaving like this today! https://t.co/a6ACK3NZ7L
— Priya45✨ (@alwaysrohit45) June 26, 2022
Rohit Sharma fans fuming over Hardik Pandya not giving credits to Rohit Sharma in the qts and comments !!?? 😭✋🏻 Grow up guys, esee trivial baaton pe kaun rota hai + Hardik just said the truth and we all know it, nothing wrong with it. https://t.co/mJrIY0uboq
— tanya (@ch3rryw8n3) June 25, 2022
Focus on Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, and Dinesh Karthik in Ireland series
All eyes will be on Indian skipper, Hardik Pandya, opener Ishan Kishan, and wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik in the T20I series against Ireland. The trio is coming on the back of a brilliant performance against South Africa in the T20I series. Ishan Kishan was the leading run-scorer in the five-match T20I series.
On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik played a key role with his batting exploits in the lower middle order. The selectors will be keeping an eye on the series, as the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 is around the corner. The players will be keen to make a strong case for themselves ahead of the mega-event in October.
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