Mumbai Indians (MI) have performed miserably under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The star all-rounder drew severe flak for his leadership skills as the five-time champions became the first team to be knocked out of playoffs contention.
As per former South Africa great AB de Villiers, the reason behind MI’s poor show might be down to the captaincy style of Pandya. The former RCB batsman feels that Pandya’s style of captaincy might not relate well with the experienced players in the dressing room.
“The captaincy style of Hardik Pandya is quite bravado. It’s ego-driven in a way, chest out,” said De Villiers recently on his official YouTube channel.
“I don’t think how he walks on the field is always genuine, but he has decided that is his way of captaincy. Almost like MS Dhoni. Cool, calm, collective, always got your chest out. But when you play with a lot of experienced players, guys who have been around for ages… They don’t buy into that. It worked at GT, where it was a younger team. Sometimes, inexperienced players love to follow that kind of leadership,” he added.