India pacer Mohammed Shami is utterly perplexed with MI skipper Hardik Pandya coming out to bat at number 7. The GT pacer, who is out of IPL 2024 due to injury, claims at Pandya coming at that position makes him a tailender. He further opines that the match against GT would have been different for MI if Hardik batted up the order.
Shami’s tailender dig at Hardik Pandya
“There is a lot of talks about left-right combination. I don’t understand such things. Last match also we talked bout how much Pat Cummins is matured. 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 said on Cricbuzz.
“When you come to bat at No. 7, you are coming in with a lot of pressure. I think if Hardik would have come earlier, the match would not have gone till last over,” he added.
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‘Dhoni is Dhoni’
Shami refused to draw a parallel between MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, noting that ‘Dhoni is Dhoni’. He notes that while every captain has a different mindset, Hardik Pandya can bat at number 4 or 5, but not at number 7.
“Dhoni is Dhoni. You cannot compare anyone. Everyone has a different mindset, whether it is Dhoni or Kohli. You should stay in the game depending on your skill. You batted at No. 3 and 4 in the last two seasons. You are used to that position. You can at the most bat at No. 5, but not at No. 7,” Shami said.
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