If reports are to be believed, then a bunch of senior players in Mumbai Indians (MI) have blamed the leadership style of new captain Hardik Pandya for the lack of buzz and intent in the dressing room in the ongoing IPL 2024.
MI became the first team to be eliminated from the race of the playoffs after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) completely demolished Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Hyderabad on Wednesday. MI is at 9th spot in the points table with 4 wins from 12 games and is no longer in contention for a top 4 finish.
MI's decision to remove Rohit Sharma, the current India captain who led the team to five IPL titles, has not gone down well with fans, who have routinely booed Hardik on match days since the season began.
Meanwhile, Indian Express, reported that key senior players of the Mumbai Indians have conveyed to the team management, that there was a lack of buzz in the dressing room and the reason was Hardik’s leadership style.
An MI official said this wasn’t a leadership crisis but more of a sign that a team that was used to Rohit’s captaincy for the last 10 years was still coming to terms with the change of guard.
“These are regular teething problems for a team that sees leadership change. This happens in sports all the time,” he said.
The report further revealed that the players and coaching staff had met following a game, and the players included MI's old hands Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah.
The players aired their thoughts over a meal and pointed to the reasons for the team not doing well. It is also learnt that later there have been one-on-one interactions between certain seniors and team management representatives.
One of the reasons for this discontent in the dressing room was Hardik Pandya blaming Tilak Varma for lack of intent in a match between MI and Delhi Capitals.
“When Axar Patel (DC bowler) was bowling to a left-hander (Tilak), the better option could have been to go after him, I think it was just a little game awareness that we missed out on. At the end of the day, that cost us the game," Hardik told Star Sports.
The blaming of one player for the team’s failure, sources said, didn’t go down well in the dressing room.
MI officials said the franchise, like every year, will take stock of the season and, if needed, take a call on the future of the team.
(Indian Express report)
