Former Indian Test opener Virender Sehwag questioned Hardik Pandya’s captaincy after Mumbai Indians suffered a seven-wicket loss against Punjab Kings at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur in the ongoing IPL 2025 on Monday.
Sehwag was not impressed with Hardik Pandya’s bowling changes while they were defending 185. The former Delhi player questioned Pandya for continuing with Deepak Chahar in the Powerplay overs despite the bowler struggling with his hamstring. Chahar conceded 28 runs in two overs after bowling a maiden.
“A bowler can get hit anytime, but Hardik Pandya, the captain, surprised me a little in this match. He could have brought himself on or bowled Ashwani Kumar. He got Deepak Chahar to bowl two overs after he strapped his hamstring. He bowled his first over as a maiden, and he gave 28 runs in those two overs,” Sehwag said on Star Sports.
Sehwag said the game tilted in PBKS’ favor after Deepak Chahar was taken for 16 runs in his final over and feels it could have been a different story if any other bowler had bowled that over.
“The match probably shifted towards Punjab from there. If Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya or Ashwani Kumar had bowled that over instead of Deepak Chahar, the 17 (16) runs that went in that over wouldn’t have gone. He disappointed me a lot with his bowling changes as a captain. He didn’t make the changes when required, and Mumbai went on the back foot because of that,” the former India opener added.
On the other hand, former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar said Hardik Pandya should have bowled himself more in the first six overs.
“Hardik Pandya should have bowled more in the powerplay. Trent Boult bowled two overs and Jasprit Bumrah was used for one over, but Deepak Chahar was made to bowl three overs. I feel Hardik could have bowled there. He also delayed himself a lot,” he said.
“When he bowls for India and MI, he probably has different expectations from himself because he has made up his mind that he will bowl only in the middle overs and use the short balls and slower bouncers. He had an economy rate of 14.50. You expect better numbers from him. He has been a main player in the World Cup,” Bangar observed.
MI will face either the Gujarat Titans or the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Eliminator at Chandigarh on Friday.
