Former India batter Ambati Rayudu believes Hardik Pandya should relinquish the Mumbai Indians captaincy, suggesting the all-rounder would benefit from concentrating on his performances rather than carrying leadership responsibilities, amid speculation over his future at the franchise ahead of the next IPL season.
Rayudu reflected on the difficulties Pandya has experienced in his stint as MI captain, suggesting that the environment around him may have contributed to the challenges he faced. He felt the all-rounder appeared to be under pressure, which could have affected his approach within the dressing room.
“In Mumbai, I just thought that Hardik felt as if he was cornered. And once you feel you’re cornered, you’re always looking over your shoulder. Once that happens in a dressing room, you tend to come out in ways that you wouldn’t want to.
A lot of things didn’t go well for Hardik. It might be Hardik’s fault as well as something else,” Rayudu said on Cricbuzz. The former Chennai Super Kings batter believes a change in responsibility could help Pandya rediscover his best cricket. Even if the 31-year-old continues with Mumbai Indians, Rayudu feels the franchise should consider appointing a different captain and allow Pandya to operate purely as a match-winning all-rounder.
“From now on, if he wants to stay at MI, I don’t think he should be the captain. He should just play his game, enjoy his time, and be a match-winner for MI. But if he goes out, definitely not a captain again, at least for one season,” Rayudu said.
Rayudu also discussed potential destinations should Pandya move away from Mumbai, identifying Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings as two franchises where the all-rounder could find a more suitable cricketing environment.
However, he was firm that Pandya should not immediately take up another leadership assignment. “I think either Punjab or CSK, because these are the two teams he could go to, but he shouldn’t be captain. He’ll find a very good space there in terms of his cricket. But with KKR, there’s so much on the plate that he needs to assess and take things forward because they need a captain. It’s not an easy team to captain right now,” Rayudu said.
Rayudu reflected on the difficulties Pandya has experienced in his stint as MI captain, suggesting that the environment around him may have contributed to the challenges he faced. He felt the all-rounder appeared to be under pressure, which could have affected his approach within the dressing room.
“In Mumbai, I just thought that Hardik felt as if he was cornered. And once you feel you’re cornered, you’re always looking over your shoulder. Once that happens in a dressing room, you tend to come out in ways that you wouldn’t want to.
A lot of things didn’t go well for Hardik. It might be Hardik’s fault as well as something else,” Rayudu said on Cricbuzz. The former Chennai Super Kings batter believes a change in responsibility could help Pandya rediscover his best cricket. Even if the 31-year-old continues with Mumbai Indians, Rayudu feels the franchise should consider appointing a different captain and allow Pandya to operate purely as a match-winning all-rounder.
“From now on, if he wants to stay at MI, I don’t think he should be the captain. He should just play his game, enjoy his time, and be a match-winner for MI. But if he goes out, definitely not a captain again, at least for one season,” Rayudu said.
Rayudu also discussed potential destinations should Pandya move away from Mumbai, identifying Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings as two franchises where the all-rounder could find a more suitable cricketing environment.
However, he was firm that Pandya should not immediately take up another leadership assignment. “I think either Punjab or CSK, because these are the two teams he could go to, but he shouldn’t be captain. He’ll find a very good space there in terms of his cricket. But with KKR, there’s so much on the plate that he needs to assess and take things forward because they need a captain. It’s not an easy team to captain right now,” Rayudu said.
