‘Fans will be singing Pandya’s praises when time comes’
Mumbai, India - Hardik Pandya looked forlorn. He had walked out to bat with Mumbai Indians’ asking rate just under 13, and by the time he was dismissed - for 2 off 6 balls - it had shot up close to 17. He paused on his walk back and joined the MI group that included the head coach Mark Boucher and batting coach Kieron Pollard as the timeout was taken.
A couple of hours earlier, Hardik took the responsibility of bowling the last over for Mumbai and gave away 26 as MS Dhoni smacked three successive sixes to help Chennai Super Kings to an unlikely 206. That total proved to be enough for Super Kings to script a 20-run win despite an unbeaten 105 from Rohit Sharma.
Pollard threw his weight behind MI’S under-fire captain Hardik and said everyone “will be singing his praises when time comes”.
“I don’t know if it will affect his confidence. He is a confident guy, he has been great around the group,” Pollard said after Mumbai’s fourth loss in six outings in IPL 2024. “In cricket, you have good days and bad days and I am seeing an individual who is working bloody hard to improve his skills and plying his trade.
“I am fed up of [us] looking to pinpoint individuals; cricket is a team game at the end of the day. This is an individual that is going to represent the country in less than six weeks’ time, and all are going to cheer him and want him to do well. So high time we try to encourage and stop nitpicking and see if we can get the best out of one of the great allrounders India has produced. He can bat, bowl and field, and has a X-factor about him.
“I hope very well deep down within my heart that when he comes out on top, I’ll sit back and watch everyone sing his praises.”
After the pre-season IPL trade, Hardik has been the subjected to jeers from the fans in Ahmedabad (where his former team Gujarat Titans is based) and Hyderabad in their first two games, and a similar treatment has continued in Mumbai’s home games, too. But his form this season has been a concern.
Returning from an ankle injury suffered during the ODI World Cup last year, he has scored 131 runs at a strike rate of 145.55 and picked up three wickets but at a high economy of 12.