Former Indian Test opener Sadagopan Ramesh slammed Hardik Pandya’s captaincy after Mumbai Indians suffered an 18-run loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Sunday.
Ramesh criticised Pandya for giving two overs to ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah in the Powerplay overs. Bumrah bowled the fourth and sixth over and he was brought back into the attack in the 17th over of the innings.
The gun fast bowler returned with figures of 0-35 in his quota of four overs and RCB went on to post 240 runs on the board.
Ramesh said on his Instagram handle, “MI’s only issue is Hardik Pandya’s captaincy. Hardik, the player, is at the upper echelon but remains mediocre as captain. He made a huge error by using two overs of Bumrah in the powerplay. Yes, the other bowlers were getting smashed, so Hardik was desperate. But Bumrah bowled his second over in the sixth over of the innings and came back only in the 17th over. It means your best bowler wasn’t in the contest for 60 deliveries.”
He added, “Though Bumrah himself hasn’t picked up wickets, he still has the best economy among the MI bowlers. He is the only one with the ability to turn a game on its head at any stage. So once he bowled a second over inside the powerplay, RCB played it cleverly by not taking any chances against him in the sixth over. They knew Bumrah would not be in the game in the next 10 overs.”
Ramesh questioned Pandya about the usage of his spinners against RCB. Pandya decided to bring on Mayank Markande against Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar, who is known for his terrific hitting against the spinners.
Patidar smashed Markande for three consecutive sixes and he was able to put MI on the backfoot. Markande conceded 40 runs in the two overs he bowled and went wicketless.
“The other big mistake Hardik made was bowling spinners at both ends in the seventh and eighth overs. Bowling spin at both ends is a cardinal sin at the Wankhede Stadium. He also gave Markande an over against a Patidar, who is already an excellent player and turns into a beast against spinners. How will you bowl a spinner against Patidar?”
Santner returned with figures of 1-43 in his four overs. Mumbai Indians will next take on Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Thursday.
