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'Love The Way Pandya Plays...' - AB de Villiers Addresses Misquoting Of Comments On MI Captain

AB de Villiers recently a made statement on Pandya's captaincy (x.com)AB de Villiers recently a made statement on Pandya's captaincy (x.com)

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) player and cricket legend AB de Villiers has clarified that his words were misinterpreted regarding Hardik Pandya's captaincy for the Mumbai Indians (MI). 

Correcting his statement, AB de Villiers expressed admiration for the way Pandya led the side. 

Mumbai were the first team to be knocked out of IPL 2024. After MI got knocked out, the South African legend commented that Pandya's leadership style hasn't suited for a big franchise like Mumbai Indians.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, De Villiers earlier suggested that Hardik's 'ego-driven' captaincy may have hindered Mumbai Indians' chances of reaching the playoffs this season.


Watch: ABD corrects his words

AB de Villiers clarified that journalists misinterpreted his words, emphasizing his admiration for Hardik Pandya. 

"I see there is a lot of activity on X about the comments I made about Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians. And it's a shame that journalism and reporting has got so low (laughs). And I am very happy that some of you have pointed it out, taking some of those comments out and leaving the rest," AB de Villiers said in his YouTube show on Monday.

ABD praised Hardik's leadership style, which proved successful with Gujarat Titans (GT). However, he explained why Hardik's style worked for GT but might not have been suitable for Mumbai Indians.

"I very clearly stated and I will state this again -- I absolutely love the way Hardik Pandya plays his game. I love the way he captains. All I can say is, his style of captaincy is something that he has certainly worked on. It's not something that you can just walk out of the door and you are a brave captain," the former IPL maestro added.

Mumbai Indians have been knocked out of IPL 2024 with just one game left in the season against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Under Hardik Pandya's captaincy, Mumbai has only managed to secure four wins this season.