Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir has taken a dig at former RCB batter AB de Villiers for his comments on Hardik Pandya's captaincy for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2024 season.

MI was the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs race in IPL 2024 and Hardik Pandya in his first stint as captain of the five-time IPL champions, has managed just 4 wins in 13 games.

Recently in a video on his YouTube channel, De Villiers questioned Hardik's body language as he walked onto the field for a game, probably suggesting that he wasn't being his own self.

Reacting to the criticism of Pandya by De Villiers, Gambhir questioned AB de Villiers' impact as a leader during his time in the IPL, when he played for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

"What was his own performance when he was the captain? I don't think, be it Kevin Pietersen or AB de Villiers, they had any performance in their career with leadership. Nothing if you pick and see their records. I don't think AB de Villiers has achieved anything in the IPL apart from his own scores. I don't think he has achieved anything from a team's point of view,” Gambhir said on Sportskeeda.

Gambhir pointed out that Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in 2022 and the final in 2023.

Gautam Gambhir says Hardik Pandya, who has only returned to MI after two years away in Gujarat, needs time to settle in. He believes one of the key reasons Hardik is being criticized is that Mumbai has not performed well as a team.

"Give him (Hardik) a bit more time. Judging him every day in every match and every time is not right. Those experts should see their own performances when they have captained a side. It's probably worse than any other leader. Ultimately it's the performance and today Mumbai Indians have not performed well so everyone is talking about it,” Gambhir added.

MI will next play LSG in their final match of the IPL 2024 on Friday, May 17, at the Wankhede Stadium.