After Mohammed Shami made a fielding error in the 13th over, Hardik Pandya was visibly enraged at his teammate. On Monday, the Gujarat Titans were defeated by the SunRisers Hyderabad.
Hardik Pandya was slammed after Gujarat Titans (GT) suffered their first defeat of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season on Monday. Gujarat lost by eight wickets to SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2022 Match 21, despite captain Pandya’s undefeated half-century. The all-rounder’s undefeated 50 runs off 42 balls helped his team post 162 for seven in 20 overs, a target of 163 runs that SRH met with five balls to spare.
Apart from being criticized for his team’s lack of runs in the game, Pandya was also chastised for criticizing teammate Mohammed Shami for failing to attempt a catch. Despite the backlash from fans, legends Graeme Swann and Matthew Hayden backed the all-rounder.
Rahul Tripathi attempted an uppercut over third man against Pandya’s delivery in the 13th over of SRH’s chase. Shami, who was at third man, was slow to react and simply maintained his ground as he gathered the ball after a bounce.
Pandya didn’t react well to his teammate’s fielding, as Kane Williamson hammered him for two consecutive sixes. As a result of watching Shami’s effort, the 28-year-old was spotted hurling insults at the pacer.
Pandya received a lot of backlash from fans, but he had a lot of backing from Swann and Hayden.
Swann told an International sports website that his captaincy should not be blamed for the loss or for his altercation with Shami.
“However, I will tell you what we should not do. We shouldn’t take one look at it and conclude that Hardik isn’t a competent captain. The fact that they did not score enough runs, not Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, cost them the game. He moved his packs very effectively, but as a skipper or bowler, your nerves get a little fried (in tense situations). It wasn’t Hardik’s captaincy that cost them the game, but a lack of runs “, he explained.
Meanwhile, Hayden defended Pandya’s reaction, calling it “a truly critical point in the match.”
“He was bowling at a fantastic pace, so I believe this was a crucial moment in the game. Mohammed Shami was on the line and made no attempt to cross it. In fact, he retreated back to the boundary, though I won’t say he was able to evade the capture “, he explained.
“He needed to push himself even harder inside the limit. When you don’t have to defend much, it’s all about putting in the effort for your teammates and making the plays. To prevent a hitter from scoring boundaries, you can use run-outs, catches, or simply assists “, he went on to say.
