Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan was not impressed with Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya after the humiliating defeat against the Chennai Super Kings. He criticized the captain for his irresponsible moves after the team faced a crushing defeat by a huge margin of 103 runs.

Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings is one of the biggest rivalries in the history of the competition. However, MI once again struggled with their home form and lost another home match. CSK, for its part, returned to winning ways.

Chennai Super Kings have climbed up the IPL points table and have now occupied the fifth position in the points table. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians are now in the eighth position, only above the likes of LSG and KKR.

Irfan Pathan blames Hardik Pandya for wrong captaincy during CSK’s batting innings

Irfan Pathan, the former Indian all-rounder, did not seem very impressed with Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya, who termed his captaincy as stupid and irresponsible. MI scored just 104 runs while chasing a big target of 208 runs.

The former cricketer questioned his decision to bowl youngster Krish Bhagat instead of returning to the attack. The youngster was bowled for 31 runs in 2 overs, while Hardik Pandya himself has just bowled two overs in the game.

“You (Hardik Pandya) make Krish Bhagat, who is playing his second match, bowl his first over in the 15th or 16th over against Sanju Samson. It was a wrong decision. You gave him the last over, which again was not the right decision. You have to take responsibility and do better as captain,” said former all-rounder Irfan Pathan.

The team that batted first won four of the last six T20 matches: Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan also pointed out that the teams playing in the shortest format of the game at Wankhede have had a winning streak for the teams that batted first. However, Hardik, after winning the toss, took a decisive decision to chase the score.

This was followed by Hardik Pandya not bowling his full quota of overs, even though the excellent Sanju Samson was still in the crease.

“The team that batted first has won four of the last six T20 matches at Wankhede, but you wanted to stay here after winning the toss. It is a tough task to win the toss and say we would bat first, but you will have to show that courage,” he added.

He hit a great shot straight away: Irfan Pathan pointed out flaws in Hardik Pandya’s batting

“He hit a great shot straight away. Yes, MI was under pressure at that time, but you were also looking for form. Hardik hasn’t scored in a half-century since 2023. He will need to move his feet when there is some help for the players on the field.”

“His stance was also different before. Now it has become wider, which gives him good balance, and he plays very well on pitches that have pace. When there is a slight hold or help, he will have to work on that.”

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