‘Many mistakes’: Irfan Pathan rips Hardik Pandya, drops ‘Jasprit Bumrah’ damning fact

Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2024 campaign went from bad to worse as the five-time champions slumped to their seventh defeat in 10 games on Tuesday. With the defeat, MI’s hopes of entry are practically over. Since the start of IPL 2024, MI has been facing several problems. The captaincy change from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya is probably the biggest one of all. Since that decision, even the MI faithful seemed to have turned against their favorite team. The fact that MI were on a losing streak didn’t help matters either.

On Tuesday, MI batsmen produced yet another chaotic display as they managed just 144/7 in 20 overs. Skipper Hardik Pandya was out for duck while Rohit Sharma was out on 4. LSG chased down the target in 19.2 overs with four wickets remaining.

After the match, Irfan Pathan, a member of the 2007 T20 World Cup-winning Indian team, blamed Hardik Pandya for MI’s horrible display.

“The Mumbai Indians team that qualified last year did not have Jasprit Bumrah, but this season they have his services. Pandya. It’s the truth,” wrote Irfan Pathan in X.

Speaking on Star Sports, former Indian cricketer Deep Dasgupta spoke about whether Hardik Pandya’s poor IPL form will be a factor in his selection for the T20 World Cup squad: “Not so much. I don’t think so. I mean , obviously IPL is a very important tournament but you also have to keep in mind the credit they have gained in the past, how they have done in the past, and I think Hardik has done well.

“We’ve seen him bat up the order, and that’s where you expect him to bat. He’s played some good innings; he’s bowled well. I’m not going to get too worried about what he’s done so far in the IPL. I think he’s a winner both with the bat and the ball as well, but just with the four spinners, this also predicts the type of pitches we can expect in the Caribbean that help the spinners more.”