Former India batter and IPL winner Manoj Tiwary claimed that Hardik Pandya has lost the MI dressing room after their latest loss to Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, May 2. Mumbai were beaten by their arch-rivals by eight wickets in another one-sided derby. The loss meant that Mumbai are ninth on the points table.
CSK vs MI: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
Hardik’s captaincy has been questioned by pundits, with fans also observing some unrest within the squad. During the loss to PBKS, Jasprit Bumrah was seen to be unhappy with the MI skipper’s calls and showed his displeasure on the field.
Speaking to Cricbuzz after the match, Tiwary said that MI’s campaign is well and truly over and feels that there seems to be something fundamentally wrong with the team.
“For me, it certainly is over; in fact, for me, it was over a long time ago. As you know, whenever we sit down for a discussion, we speak quite openly and frankly with one another. I base my observations and comments strictly on what is visible on the field. And, in my opinion—judging by the brand of cricket we’ve witnessed—it appears that something is fundamentally amiss,” said Tiwary.
Coming to Hardik and his captaincy, Tiwary felt that none of the players are standing behind the all-rounder. While the former India batter admitted that Hardik hasn’t lived up to the hype of being MI skipper, he also blamed the rest of the squad for not stepping up during the season.
“Look, a captain is supposed to win the confidence of every single player in the squad; you have to step up and be a true leader. Right? However, observing the situation, it seems as though no one is truly standing by Hardik. It feels like no one is rallying behind him; the kind of support he ought to be receiving simply isn’t materializing.”
“Yes, the captain certainly has a specific role to play—and perhaps, he isn’t fulfilling that role as effectively as he could be. From my perspective, he isn’t quite living up to the task. But beyond that, the players themselves need to shoulder their share of the responsibility,” said Tiwary.
The former KKR man pointed out the examples of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, who remained inconsistent throughout the campaign.
“Take Suryakumar, for instance: he hasn’t been delivering performances on a consistent, match-to-match basis. Similarly, Tilak had one standout match, but he hasn’t been scoring runs since then. If this kind of inconsistency persists among the rest of the squad, how can you possibly expect to achieve positive results? It is, quite frankly, deeply disappointing,” said Tiwary.
‘REMOVE EL CLASICO NAME’
Chennai’s win on Saturday meant that CSK have now won six out of the last seven matches against MI. Chennai also closed the gap to Mumbai in their head-to-head record, which now stands at 24-21, still in favour of MI.
Tiwary said that the rivalry has become one-sided in recent times and should be stripped of the El Clasico title.
“You know how we always talk about this fixture being the “El Clsico” of the IPL? Well, you can go ahead and strip it of that title now, because it has become a completely one-sided affair. In their last seven head-to-head encounters, Chennai Super Kings have emerged victorious six times. So, it would be inaccurate to claim that this rivalry still retains its “El Clsico” status,” said Tiwary.
Mumbai still retain a mathematical chance of making it to the playoffs. They will face LSG at home in their next game on Monday, May 4.
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