One of the most debated aspects of MI’s dismal show has been the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, who took over as skipper from Rohit Sharma ahead of this season, after getting traded-in by Mumbai from Gujarat Titans.
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Hardik, who led Gujarat to the title in their debut IPL season in 2022 and finished runners-up in 2023. But he could lead MI to only 4 wins in 13 matches so far this season, which led to the ouster of five-time champions.
He shed some light on his leadership ahead of Friday’s match.
“I think my captaincy is simple,” said Hardik on the video clip of ‘Captains Speak’ segment shared by Star Sports on ‘X’. “It’s just Hardik Pandya playing with 10 other of his teammates. The mantra is simple. Looking after the players, you give them the confidence, you give them the belief, you give them the love. They will go out and give more than 100 percent and that’s something I ask for.”
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On a personal note as well, Hardik didn’t have an IPL to remember. Going into MI’s last match of the season, Hardik, who has been named vice-captain of India’s T20 World Cup squad, has scored only 200 runs in 12 innings at an average of just 18.18. He has bowled in 11 of Mumbai’s 13 matches, taking 11 wickets with a best of 3 for 31 and an economy rate of 10.58.
“I am not someone who is result-oriented, but I am definitely approach-oriented. (I see) what kind of approach they (players) are showing, and if I feel that is suiting the team, I think somewhere down the line it helps the team…,” the 30-year-old all-rounder added.
While MI are out of the race to playoffs, LSG’s hopes are only mathematically alive going in their final game of the season.
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