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'Basically A Tailender' - Gujarat Titans Pacer Pins Blame On Hardik Pandya

Mohammed Shami in GT jersey (twitter)Mohammed Shami in GT jersey (twitter)

In what was supposed to be a memorable debut for Hardik Pandya as captain of Mumbai Indians, the script took an unexpected turn. Despite a strong performance for most of the game, Mumbai Indians choked in the crucial moments, allowing Gujarat to snatch victory by 6 runs.

Adding salt to the wound, Gujarat pacer Mohammed Shami, currently sidelined due to injury, didn't hold back in criticising his former captain at Gujarat, now leading Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya, for the defeat. 

Mumbai's chase of 169 runs started promisingly, because of Rohit Sharma and Brevis batting, but the team failed to seal the deal in the end. Captain Pandya managed only 11 runs from 4 balls faced.

However, it wasn't Pandya's batting performance that disappointed Shami; rather, it was the decision to place Pandya at number 7 in the batting order. By the time Pandya entered the equation, the match had already moved towards Gujarat's favour.

"There is a lot of talks about left-right combination. I don't understand such things. You need to stay a step ahead. You should think, 'I am the captain, I should take this responsibility.' As far as Hardik is concerned, you have batted at No.3 and No.4 at Gujarat Titans, what is the problem in batting at No. 4 or 5 here in MI? Hardik at No. 7 basically becomes a tailender," Shami spoke on Cricbuzz.

When questioned about whether Hardik Pandya was following the Dhoni template, Shami responded confidently -

"Dhoni is Dhoni, you cannot compare anyone. Everyone has a different mindset, whether it's Dhoni or Kohli. You should stay in the game depending on your skill."

Nevertheless, MI - who have been winless in their IPL opening games since 2012 - will look to get back to winning ways as they face Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.