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'Now there's a Rohit, there's a Bumrah. They go like, all we need you to be is calm. Give us a bit of input on how to win matches. We don't need the bravado.'
South Africa's batting great AB de Villiers raised questions on Hardik Pandya's captaincy in IPL 2024, terming it 'ego-driven, chest out'. He believes a lot of experienced Mumbai Indians players don't buy into Pandya's style of captaincy.
"The captaincy style of Hardik Pandya is quite bravado. It's ego-driven in a way, chest out. 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 (Mahendra Singh Dhoni). Cool, calm, collective, always got your chest out," de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
"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 (Gujarat Titans), where it was a younger team. Sometimes, inexperienced players love to follow that kind of leadership."
De Villiers further urged Pandya to handle situations calmly in the middle and take inputs from seniors like Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.
"I remember Graeme Smith. He was out there for the team. All I needed to do as a youngster was to follow. Now there's a Rohit, there's a Bumrah. They go like, all we need you to be is calm. Give us a bit of input on how to win matches. We don't need the bravado.
I am not having a go at Hardik. I love watching him play. I love him putting out his chest because I was like that," he added.
Mumbai Indians were the first side to be eliminated from IPL 2024. They are languishing in eighth place in the standings, with four wins from 12 games.