Irfan Pathan is secretly siding with Rohit Sharma in the Rohit-Hardik Pandya debacle
Irfan Pathan, who was an all-rounder himself during his playing days and had never captained a team in his career, always seemed to choose a side. Amid the massive social media debacle between Hardik Pandya and former MI captain Rohit Sharma, Pathan has secretly sided with the latter.
And he did so by calling on senior MI pacer Jasprit Bumrah. In his tweet, Irfan Pathan wrote that Mumbai were able to qualify for the playoffs last season despite Bumrah’s absence from the team as they were captained by Rohit Sharma.
But this season, despite Bumrah’s performances, MI failed to make it to the top four, purely due to the fault of Hardik Pandya. Pathan feels that Pandya did not lead his team well on the ground and that he made too many mistakes as captain of the team.
What is notable here is that these comments come from a former all-rounder who himself was part of T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy winning teams. Yes, in cricket the role of a captain is very important but captain alone cannot make a team win matches.
In Hardik Pandya’s case, he did not have the support of his players on the field. The behavior of Akash Madhwal and others towards their new captain was not at all acceptable. In such a situation, even someone like MS Dhoni will not be able to lead a team to victory.
“The Mumbai Indians team that qualified last year did not have Jasprit Bumrah but this season they had his services. Yet they are in this situation. Simply because the team on site was not well managed. Too many mistakes from their captain.” Hardik Pandya. It’s the truth. – Irfan Pathan wrote about X
How did fans react to Irfan Pathan’s tweet?
The fans didn’t react the way Irfan Pathan would have expected. Many people under his post have made comments against him and surprisingly against defender Hardik Pandya. A fan asked Irfan Pathan if he saw what happened in the 2022 season when MI ended at the bottom despite the presence of Jasprit Bumrah under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.
Another fan asked Pathan if he has any personal plans against Hardik Pandya as he constantly highlights him and not any other player in the team. There was another fan who wrote: “Hardik Pandya played two consecutive finals as captain. Why don’t you talk about someone who is a liability for both Team India and MI?”
What’s next for Hardik and Rohit?
Mumbai Indians’ exit from the IPL 2024 play-offs is a blessing. Three of the team’s seniors – Pandya, Rohit and Bumrah – will now fly to the US much earlier to prepare well for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, where Rohit will have Hardik as his alternate captain. MI’s exit from this issue only tells us one thing: “Whatever happens, happens for the good.”