Mumbai Indians’ skipper, Hardik Pandya, once again found himself on the losing side as Rajasthan Royals virtually guaranteed their spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs with a commanding 9-wicket victory. Since taking over the helm from Rohit Sharma, Hardik has faced intense scrutiny.
He conceded that the team’s performance across batting, bowling, and fielding hasn’t been up to par. As Mumbai Indians’ errors persist, costing them crucial matches, Hardik acknowledged the need to acknowledge shortcomings and address them promptly.
Hardik in a post match presentation revealed: “We put ourselves in trouble early on. The way Tilak and Nehal batted – that was fantastic. I don’t think that when we lost a couple of wickets early we thought we would even reach 180. We didn’t finish well and that’s why we were 10-15 runs short. We had to keep it within the stumps (while bowling). Early on in the powerplay, we gave a lot of width and I don’t think it was our best day in the field as well. Overall, we did not put the right foot in the park and eventually, they outplayed us.”
It’s not the right time to go to the players, everyone is professional, they know their roles says Hardik Pandya
Despite certain players underperforming this season, Hardik refrains from singling them out for individual discussions, maintaining faith in the professionalism of his squad and hoping they take responsibility for their mistakes.
He further said: “After the game, it’s not the right time to go to the players, everyone is professional, they know their roles. What we can do is learn from this game and the mistakes which we have made, rectify it and make sure that we don’t make it. Progression is very important. Within the team, individually, we will have to accept our flaws and maybe work on those.’
Despite Mumbai’s fifth loss in eight matches, Hardik remains steadfast in his belief in the chosen team. Heading into the critical stage of the campaign, he downplayed the prospect of major lineup changes, emphasizing continuity and trust in the current squad’s abilities.
He concluded by saying: “I don’t believe much in chip and chop, I like to back players and the focus would always be to play good cricket, sticking to our plans and making sure that we don’t make the basic errors. Cricket is simple, as long as we keep it simple, it’s nice.”
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