Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya is not having a good season and his ongoing maiden captaincy stint with MI has been sour mostly till now. The reasons - MI are not winning much, the fans are booing Hardik, and the performances are not coming to the extent one would have liked.
Meanwhile, Mumbai's batting coach Kieron Pollard has backed the team skipper saying that he is fed up of people pinpointing Hardik. "I don't know if it will affect his confidence. He is a confident guy, he has been great around the group. In cricket, you have good days and bad days and I am seeing an individual who is working bloody hard to improve his skills and plying his trade.
"I am sick and fed up of [us] looking to pinpoint individuals; cricket is a team game at the end of the day," Pollard said after MI's 20-run loss.
Pollard also said that its high time that people try to encourage him. He looks forward to the time when the fans will sing his praises. "This is an individual that is going to represent the country in less than six weeks' time, and all are going to cheer him and want him to do well. So high time we try to encourage and stop nitpicking and see if we can get the best out of one of the great all-rounders India has produced. He can bat, bowl and field, and has a X-factor about him. I hope very well deep down within my heart that when he comes out on top, I'll sit back and watch everyone sing his praises," he added.
MI have managed just two wins in their first six matches. They first lost their opening three games, consolidating their tag of slow-starters. MI then bounced back and defeated Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru to gather momentum. The momentum could not last long with Chennai Super Kings snatching it away in MI's sixth game.
The Mumbai-based franchise lost the 'El Classico' clash against CSK by 20 runs. Hardik came under scrutiny for his fibal over against MS Dhoni with Sunil Gavaskar labelling his bowling and captaincy 'absolutely ordinary'.
"One six is fine. The next one again a length ball when you know that this batter is looking for a length ball to hit. The third ball again, a full toss on the leg side and he’s looking for it and hits it for a six. Absolutely ordinary bowling, ordinary captaincy. I do believe the CSK team should have been restricted for 185 or 190," Gavaskar told Star Sports in the mid-innings break of the MI vs CSK clash.
This led to CSK posting a target of 206 and then led by a brilliant bowling effort, the visitors defended the total without much difficulty.