Picture Credit: X/IPL
Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan lashed out at Indian all-rounder and Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya. Pathan said that the BCCI shouldn’t give Pathan much priority and the same treatment as the last few years. Pathan’s statement came as Mumbai Indians continued their below-par performance in the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League. The five-time winners registered their sixth loss of the season as they went down to Delhi Capitals on April 27 by a margin of 10 runs.
Pandya was a part of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 squad but was sidelined due to an ankle injury midway through the tournament. Before heading Mumbai Indians in the cash-rich league, Pandya made his return at the DY Patil Tournament. The former GT captain who led the side to two consecutive finals and the IPL 2022 trophy , failed to deliver a decent performance and faced the wrath of fans and experts alike.
Indian cricket needs to stop giving him that much priority: Irfan Pathan on Hardik Pandya
Former Indian cricketer and commentator Irfan Pathan has been very vocal about his views and has given a critical assessment of Pandya’s performance in the 17th IPL. With the 2024 T20 World Cup coming up, Pathan lashed out at Pandya and said that Indian cricket needs to stop giving him much priority. The 39-year-old said on Star Sports, "What I feel about Hardik Pandya is that Indian cricket needs to make it clear that they should not give him that much priority as they have given him so far because we still haven't won the World Cup. And if you think you are a primary all-rounder, you need to make that kind of an impact at the international level.”
He added, “As far as the all-rounder is concerned, he hasn't made that impact at the international level, we are only thinking about the potential. We are getting confused between the IPL performances and the international performances. That's a big difference.”