NEW DELHI: Out-of-form new Mumbai Indians skipper
Hardik Pandya
has been under constant scrutiny, since the beginning of the IPL this year.
Expensive bowling figures, not many runs with the bat and a sub-par leadership have led to constant criticism of the all-rounder for the majority part of the first half of the season.
And MI winning just three out of their 9 matches and languishing at the bottom half of the table has added more fuel to fire.
However former pacer Varun Aaron believes that Hardik is a sure-shot contender in India's
T20 World Cup
squad, putting him over Chennai Super Kings' Shivam Dube.
Aaron felt that Hardik's move to return to Mumbai backfired and that has put a lot of pressure on him, thus affecting his performance in the ongoing IPL.
"Hardik for sure. Hardik is a proven match winner. I know he is not at his best at the moment. There is so much noise around the Mumbai Indians camp. He is taking on a lot of pressure. No matter what happens, he must be thinking, man.. I was winning trophies in GT (Gujarat Titans). I was the captain. We came runners-up. Why the hell did I come here! (laughs). Because it's a lot of pressure. And I would say it's needless pressure because you were doing well, you were setting up your legacy at the Gujarat Titans," Aaron said.
"But then he has come to Mumbai Indians and I understand why because he loves Mumbai. He loves Mumbai Indians. They gave him the initial platform and he has gone on to conquer a lot in world cricket through that. But you gotta see he had a really really good run at the Titans. So, I think once you remove him from that pressure kind-of spot, he will shine," Aaron added.
In the 9 matches MI has played so far, Hardik has 197 runs at an average of 24.62 and a strike rate of 151.53.
On the bowling front, the 30-year-old has only 4 wickets and has leaked runs at an economy of close to 12 RPO.
Hardik replaced a highly-successful
Rohit Sharma
-- 5-time title winner -- as the MI skipper ahead of the start of the 2024 season.
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