WI v IND 2023: Hardik Pandya roasted for his 'okay to be unique' remark after India loses T20I series to West Indies

West Indies defeated India in a bilateral series for the first time since 2006 (min. 3 matches).

By Jatin Sharma - 14 Aug, 2023

India T20I captain Hardik Pandya came in for some major trolling in the aftermath of the fifth and final match of the series against West Indies in Florida on August 13, Sunday, which the Men in Blue lost by 8 wickets and also lost the series 2-3.

India was without three of its major players in Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja, apart from Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj, with Hardik Pandya leading the side.

The side had some new faces in Mukesh Kumar, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Tilak Varma, with seasoned players like Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik himself.

India started poorly, losing the first two T20Is in Trinidad and Guyana, but came back strongly in the 3rd and 4th matches in Guyana and Florida.

It all came down to the final T20I in Florida, in which India batted first and only posted 165/9 in 20 overs with Suryakumar Yadav top-scoring with 61*. Romario Shepherd took four wickets for the Windies.

In response, despite losing Kyle Mayers early, Nicholas Pooran (47) and Brandon King (85*) added 107 runs for the second wicket and helped the Windies win by 8 wickets in hand and 12 balls to spare.

It was West Indies' first-ever bilateral series (minimum 3 matches) win against India in 17 years. The last time they had defeated India was in 2006, in an ODI contest, with a 4-1 score line.

WI v IND 2023: ‘Certainly an area we need to look at,’ Dravid expresses concerns over India’s batting depth after T20I series loss

This was a new low for the Indian team as they lost to a West Indies side that had failed to qualify for the main round of T20 World Cup last year in Australia and have failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup this year.

However, the fans on social media singled out captain Hardik Pandya for his remark, which he had made at the toss in the final ODI match with the series on the line.

At toss, presenter Samuel Badree asked what it would imply if he failed to continue India's winning streak against West Indies in bilateral ODI series and the stand-in skipper had replied saying: “It's okay. I like to be unique.”

This remark became a point of contention for the Indian team fans who trolled and roasted Hardik Pandya on social media.

Here are some reactions:

 

By Jatin Sharma - 14 Aug, 2023

TAGS