Hardik Pandya has done worse than a layman in captaincy so far, here’s how

Hardik Pandya’s captaincy has been marred by display of poor leadership which is manifested in his erratic decision-making, questionable player selection, mismanagement of key bowlers, perceived arrogance, and a lack of strategic thinking. These shortcomings have left fans like me and many experts too deeply disappointed. I have been ardent admirer of Mumbai Indians hence examining his leadership which reveals a pattern of blunders that have had a detrimental impact on the team performance and morale of fans.

Poor evaluation of players

Pandya’s decision to drop Luke Wood after one bad over demonstrates his inability to assess a player’s overall performance. Ignoring Wood’s previous impressive bowling against GT, Pandya instead entrusted an inexperienced player who performed even worse. He also did not consider that Luke Wood was just a fresh youngster in front of an excellent finisher Rahul Tewatia, who on his day can smash any bowler. This lack of judgment and faith in key players reflects poorly on Pandya’s leadership.

His persistence with underperforming Tim David, despite erratic performance in both IPL and international cricket, is puzzling. David has shown an inability to convert potential into match-winning performances. He has also not shown the same level of finch hitting prowess in IPL as he has in leagues like PSL etc. which are far less competitive. Pandya should have considered the experienced Nabi, who has a proven track record in pressure situations, instead of persisting with an underperforming player.

Pandya’s mishandling of Jasprit Bumrah, the team’s main bowler, is incomprehensible. Waiting for four overs before bringing him into the game shows lack of strategic thinking. Bumrah’s skills should have been utilized strategically to maximize the team’s chances of success.

Arrogance combined with poor leadership

Pandya’s aggressive dictation towards Rohit Sharma regarding field positions and his nonsensical review of Coetzee’s no-ball highlight his arrogance and lack of leadership with poor critical thinking and equanimity. A captain’s role is to lead, not dictate to experienced players. Pandya’s selection of Shams Mulani based solely on average Ranji Trophy performances demonstrates questionable leadership.

Overlooking impactful players like Romario Shepherd, who have excelled in international cricket, indicates poor judgment. He did bring Romario in as an impact player against SRH subsequently. Also, bringing in Akash Madhwal late in the third match of the season was a bad decision as well, because given his performance last season, bagging ten wickets in three games, including a stellar 5/5(3.3) against LSG in the playoffs, he should have played from the first game itself.

Pandya’s inability to take responsibility as a captain is evident in his team’s failures against GT. Additionally, his slow batting against SRH cost the Mumbai Indians a chance to achieve a record chase. His lack of aggression and failure to lead by example have repeatedly let the team down.

Hasty and injudicious use of impact player feature

Pandya’s poor use of the Impact Player feature during the match against RR is another glaring mistake. Bringing in Dewald Brevis immediately after Naman Dhir’s dismissal placed undue pressure on inexperienced players. It is understandable that he may have wanted to improve the youngsters’ pressure handling capacity but outrightly putting them under this level of pressure and expecting them to deliver or learn anything at all is unrealistic. This decision showed a lack of understanding of the importance of experience and composure in pressure situations. He should have sent Nabi who is seasoned and has shown clear prowess in handling pressure, as Nabi once almost led Afghanistan to a miraculous chase of 292 off 37 overs.

Even inexperienced players could actually learn and take inspiration from watching Nabi tackle a pressure situation. He would have been a good extra bowler option for the second innings as well. Pandya’s panic-driven use of the impact player feature further exposed his poor decision-making and inability to assess the team’s needs.

Final Words

Hardik Pandya’s captaincy has been a disaster with poor leadership marred by bad decision-making, incompetence in player selection, mismanagement of key bowlers, arrogance, and a lack of strategic thinking and equanimity. His leadership has left fans and experts deeply disappointed, with his aggressive body language making him look even worse. The Mumbai Indians’ management made a grave mistake in appointing him as captain, and a change is necessary before further damage is done. Pandya’s captaincy is a blight on the team, and the decision to strip Rohit Sharma of his captaincy rights despite his yeomen service to the team now appears even more baffling. Not to mention, even Rohit Sharma is unhappy with Hardik’s ridiculous captaincy and wishes to leave MI, which is obnoxious for the fans to hear as well. Despite their recent improvement in their win against DC, one victory is by no means enough to overshadow three debacles.