Tag Archives: ICC ODI WC

The Mumbai Indians- Hardik Pandya Furor

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As I write this blog, MI have been knocked out of IPL 2026. They are wallowing at the 9th position and may well hit bottom if they lose their final match. A repeat of the disastrous 2024 season. In a way, MI stocks on IPL Dalal Street have crashed. But this had happened earlier also in 2022 under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. His 11 years at the helm saw the franchise win 5 trophies but also not qualify for the playoffs on 4 occasions. So why the furore over Mumbai Indians’ despondent season and especially regarding Hardik Pandya’s captaincy.

Let’s travel back to November 2023. Rohit Sharma is the captain of the Men in Blue for the ICC ODI WC being held in India. After a stellar performance by the team, India falters in the final vs Australia. The skipper has himself been the top scorer in the tournament with 648 runs in 9 innings with an amazing 5 centuries. A few days later the MI Management announces that Hardik Pandya will be the new MI captain for IPL 2024; the much-loved Rohit bhai has been ousted. The anger of MI fans and cricket lovers from across the country rages across social media. The MI Head Coach Mark Boucher tries to calm the storm by calling it ‘a purely cricketing decision’ and for ‘allowing him to thrive purely as a batter.’ The totally forgetful 2024 IPL season is only remembered for the vehement booing of Hardik Pandya and the owners (Mukesh Ambani family) by the fans at the Wankhede stadium.

What sparked the sustained backlash?! The covert way it was done. An All-Cash Deal of Rs 15 crs to get Pandya back from Gujarat Titans with a captaincy clause thrown in. Presumably, the MI Management thought that Rohit’s days as captain were over and who better than to have the all-rounder who had led GT to the 2022 IPL title and the final a year later. But the Unsportsmanlike Vibes of the entire episode could not be shrugged off. The Hitman had led MI from 2013, and Hardik had joined the team as a newbie in 2015. In 2016, he had a poor tournament and was even benched midway for a few matches. The story goes that MI were prepared to trade the all-rounder for the 2017 season, but the captain stepped in and convinced the franchise management of his potential. Suffice to say that Hardik’s best years at MI and for India happened under Rohit Sharma’s leadership. However, his arrogance and self-centred attitude did not even allow for a graceful transition of captaincy.

Take Sanju Samson’s move from RR to CSK for IPL 2026. Many expected him to take over the reins from Ruturaj Gaekwad. Listen-in to Samson, ‘I am here to play for my team. I’ll play for my captain Ruturaj.’ He went on to praise Gaekwad’s assured captaincy and how it gave him the freedom to play without fear. Small wonder that Samson has broken Dhoni’s long-standing record for the franchise- 477 runs in 13 matches as WK- batsman vs Thala’s 461 runs in 2013. This is pure sporting spirit.

In a sense, the MI owners are also in the dock for this entire episode. The billionaire family are the owners and have every right to change the captain of their franchise team; but surely not this way-like a midnight coup. A Captain who had led your team for 11 years and to 5 titles surely deserved better. A Mentor to your senior players like Bumrah, SKY and Hardik Pandya himself surely deserved better. At the very least, a warm, heartfelt ceremony to highlight the transfer of captaincy would have been expected. The Ambanis treated it just like another business deal, albeit a high-profile transaction. In their ivory tower, they did not realise that cricket is much more than a mere sport in India. Players like Thala Dhoni (CSK), King Kohli (RCB) and Rohit Sharma (MI) have a passionate fan following much beyond the franchise domain.

Rohit bhai has become an emotion. For MI fans he is ‘Mumbai cha Raja’. The owners are realising their blunder too late and instead of owning up are rolling out an elaborate PR campaign. So, we are shown Nita Ambani in an animated discussion with Hardik Pandya with Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma listening in; we have Akash Ambani walking out before the end of the match with a disconsolate look on his face. Listen up, the owners have scored the self-goal. Such is the power of the Ambanis that well-known cricket experts are tiptoeing around the mess. We have Harsha Bhogle who says that he feels very sad for Hardik Pandya; sadly, we have R Ashwin opining that ‘to pin the blame on Hardik is a bit too much. Nobody turned up.’ Seriously?! If players are not performing, isn’t the captain accountable?! Out of their 4 wins this year SKY has led MI in 2 matches and Bumrah in 1 match with Hardik sitting out due to injury. Period. Finally, he ends up spilling out the truth- ‘it’s not easy to replace Rohit Sharma.’ The money and power of the franchise owners is so palpable that even ex-cricketers and commentators are afraid to call a spade a spade. The very apparent rifts and tensions in the MI dressing room are being dismissed as ‘rumours’. If the MI Icon and Mentor Sachin Tendulkar has remained silent on the abrupt removal of Rohit as captain, then one can understand The Sounds of Silence.

A few exceptions like K Srikanth and Murali Kartik are speaking out. The former has called out Pandya’s ‘Dabba captaincy’ and questioned why he is not bowling in the death overs. Kartik has clearly said that ‘bringing in Hardik to replace Rohit Sharma as captain has alienated senior MI players and damaged dressing room culture.’ MI management also did not factor in the captaincy aspirations of SKY at the franchise since 2012 & of Bumrah at MI since 2013.

The BCCI and Indian Selectors have acted far more sensibly. On the 29th  of June 2024, Rohit Sharma lifted the T20 WC trophy after India beat South Africa in Barbados; on the 9th March 2025, the Men in Blue beat New Zealand in the final of the ODI ICC Men’s Champions Trophy in Dubai with Rohit Sharma at the helm. Egg on the faces of the MI Management and the owners!!! The legendary Head Coach Rahul Dravid has revealed that it was the India captain who persuaded him to remain as Head Coach after the heartbreak in the 2023 ODI final vs Australia. He has also mentioned that ‘he loved Rohit’s captaincy as he took responsibility for setting the tempo himself rather than asking others to do’; and ‘that he would miss Rohit as a person.’  His opening partner Shikhar Dhawan has called him ‘a gem of a person.’ Harbhajan Singh has said that ‘you will not find a better  insaan’ (Human being) amongst current Indian cricketers’; Bumrah has said again and again ‘that I was privileged to play under his captaincy.’ Sanju Samson holds him in highest regard for ‘his communication, empathetic leadership and personal encouragement’; Kuldeep Yadav has thanked him for his career revival; Mohammed Shami praises him as a selfless leader and the most dangerous white-ball cricket opener in the world; to the young Tilak Verma dedicating many of his match-winning performances to his elder bro and mentor Rohit Sharma. How could the MI Management have missed out on this humongous goodwill swirling around their captain Rohit Sharma?

Hardik Pandya is a top-class allrounder in white ball cricket. He has positively impacted many matches for MI, GT and in India colours.  But it needs to be said that at MI and at international level he had Rohit Sharma as mentor; at GT he had Ashish Nehra- motivator and a real cricketing brain. He has lakhs of fans rooting for him with hashtags like Justice for Hardik, Pandya the Legend and We Love Hardik. His fan following is a combo- for his cricketing skills and a cultivated rock-star and playboy persona. As far as cricket performances are concerned he is still not a legend like Kapil Dev; also, to be a true leader one has to earn respect and show character. The playboy image almost ruined his career in 2019 when he and KL Rahul appeared on the infamous Koffee with Karan show. Pandya came across as boastful, misogynist, sexist – bragging about his conquests of women and even showing his parents in a very disrespectful light. Crass, cringeworthy, he crossed all lines of decency. He and Rahul were called back from the Australia tour and temporarily suspended.

Hardik Pandya is only 32 years old. As a top-quality white ball cricketer, he has a few more years of good cricket left. He is in the dumps now, but who knows he may win the ICC 2027 ODI WC for his country. However, he must focus on his fitness and his game and re-set his mindset and even reinvent himself. Remember 12th July 1998. France defeated defending champions Brazil 3-0 to win their first World Cup. The OG Ronaldo, an all-time great, was a shadow of himself in the finals. The multifunctional striker was lambasted and derided and even accused of match-fixing. Much, much more than what Hardik Pandya has had to go through. In the 2002 FIFA WC Brazil lifted their 5th title beating Germany 2-0 in the finals in Japan. You guessed it!! Ronaldo scored both the goals and was declared Man of the Finals. Cricket or Football- fortunes change but only if the Champion players prepare for it and will it to happen.

So, what about Rohit Sharma? He is planning for his life beyond cricket. He will be hosting a talk show on Sony Liv. With his wry sense of humour and the Mumbaikar lingo he will ‘take some guests for a walk down the garden.’ But Indian cricket should not lose out on his vast experience, his cricketing brain and his mentorship aura. A stint as Head of National Cricket Academy for upcoming Indian cricketers automatically comes to mind. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have made great contributions in this role. The roles of Head Coach, Chairman of Selectors or even President or Secretary of BCCI (sometime in the future) will seminally boost the growth, success and influence of Indian cricket.

The Men in Blue 2.0

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The Asia Cup cricket tournament is on and the Men in Blue are serving their customary fare. Flatter to deceive.  Winning their opening outing against arch-rivals Pakistan in a thriller and then just succumbing to them in their next encounter.  This does not augur well for the national cricket team in the T 20 WC to be played in Australia in October-November this year. The only positive takeaways have been the return to form of master batsman Virat Kohli and some high adrenaline performances from Hardik Pandya and Surya Kumar Yadav.

Let us set the bar high. Win the Asia Cup to propel the side to win the Major-Down-Under. With our cricketers getting the VVIP treatment both in money terms and fame, should we settle for less? With an abundance of talent, with an amazing bench-strength the National cricket team is underperforming on the biggest stages of all.

Men in Blue 2.0. A lot is expected from the players under the mentorship of Rahul Dravid. But his innings thus far has been a mixed bag. The highs have been the 2-1 ODI win and 2-1 T 20 victory against a resurgent England side in England earlier this year. The down-side was allowing them to draw the Test series 2-2 in the one-off Test. One may add beating the West Indies on their home turf in the ODI 3-0 and T 20 by 4-1. The Windies are a very combative side in the T 20 format. They won the ICC trophies in 2012 and 2016. The loss to South Africa 2-1 in Tests and 3-0 in ODI’s hurts. Remember-Kohli resigned from captaincy after the loss of the Test series. There are Statistics and then there are Impact Stats. Winning matches on SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) tours define the aura for the Indian cricket team. The conditions+ pitches+ opposition take these contests to another level of grit, flair and competition. Plus, plus, plus lifting the ICC World Cup trophies across formats- Tests, ODI’s, T 20’s. These test the nerves and temperament, the skills and adaptability of the best of cricketers. The best that can be said as of now is that the Indian cricket team under Head Coach Dravid is still to find its mojo. Let’s hope that the unit hits top gear soon. A trivia worth sharing- in his 10 month stint thus far Dravid has worked with 7 Indian captains.

Bilateral series wins on Indian turf cannot be discounted. But Indian teams across the last 2 decades and more have stood tall on home pitches. A couple of years back the bombastic coach Shastri hailed the Indian team as the best ever to represent the country.  Really?! A reality check is in order per the SENA tours and the big ICC trophies. We lost the Test series 4-1 to England in 2018; ODI 2-1; T 20 2-1. Lost the Test Series to New Zealand 2-0 in 2020. The high point has been the never-say-die Test tour of England in 2021 where India led the Test Series 2-1 with the hosts levelling the series 2-2 earlier this year. And the T 20 away win in Kiwi-land in 2020. Much hype has been created about our 2018-19 victory tour of Australia. To spell out the context. The Aussies were still shamefully coping with the cheating scandal called ‘Sandpapergate’- ball tampering on the South African tour. Their top players Smith and Warner had been suspended for a year. Morale was at a grim low. Players were booed by their own people across all the venues. The Miracle Down Under under Rahane in 2021 is the real thing. The 36 all-out in the First Test. Losing top players to injury. Against All Odds. The rest is history.

World Cup silverware has not adorned BCCI shelves since the Championship trophy of 2013. Losing the Test Championship at Lords to New Zealand in 2021. Exiting the ODI semi-final in England in 2019. Not making it to the knock-out stage at the 2021 T 20 tournament. Let’s hark back to those who wore the Indian cap and colours in the earlier years. Winners of the ICC World Cup in 1983 and 2011. The T 20 WC in 2007. The Champions trophy in 2002 and 2013. Runners up at the ODI WC in 2003 and T 20 in 2014.

Stats can be spun to suit the narrative. Social media can amplify and distort the same. Is the Indian cricket team in the same league as the majestic Windies team of the late 70’s and 80’s? Or the great Australian side under Waugh and Ponting?  These teams dominated the game for almost a decade. The Caribbean Calypsos did not lose a series for 10 years and more. Beyond the wins and the silver-ware they influenced and changed how the game of cricket was played. Interestingly, it was India that stopped the Windies juggernaut at Lords ’83 and again India that shattered the Aussie dreams of capturing the Last Frontier in 2001.

Shrug, shrug. In the opinion of many the challenge of the SENA tours and losing out on ICC majors does not seem to matter. After all, India is the centre of gravity of the cricketing world. Are we suffering from the Super Bowl syndrome of American football?! The IPL is the second richest sports league in the world after the English Premier League. Hope that Indian cricket is not affected by the curse of English football. The most followed football league on the planet but no major trophy for the English team since WC 1966. The powers that be and the Influencers of Indian cricket should understand that the fortunes of the IPL are inextricably linked to the fortunes of the Men in Blue.

Let’s look at other sports. The Spanish football team dominated the world of football for 5 years from 2008 to 2012.They won the European Championships in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup in 2010. The 2010 team is considered by some pundits as the greatest of all time. Now 12 years on, can you remember any marquee names?  Possibly one or two in one of the best football squads ever. To quote from one of the experts, “the journey of the treble of trophies was a long time coming for La Roja. After years of near misses and underachievement, Spain’s golden generation-produced largely by Barcelona and Real Madrid- became an unstoppable force.”

Let’s look at individual icons in a team sport. Lionel Messi is right up there in the stratosphere of football all-time greats. Some consider him the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) for his magical skills and abilities on the football field. But what haunted this Superstar was that he had not won any major tournament with the Argentina team. Till the Copa America in 2021. That he propelled his national team to the WC final in 2014 (1-0) loss to Germany or 2 successive Copa America finals in 2015-2016 did not count. At the top levels in international sports- the World Cups, Grand Slams, Continental Championships, Olympics- it’s holding aloft the trophy or wearing the gold medal that matters.

Domination of the game in all 3 formats is the only ticket for the Men in Blue into crickets ‘Immortal Hall of Fame.’ As ardent well-wishers we hope that the time starts now and continues for a few years on.

Overhyped? Or Underachievers?

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PIC COURTESY: HEMANT SINGH

The drubbings at the hands of Pakistan and New Zealand in the T20 World Cup tick both the boxes in the above title. Getting thrashed by 10 wickets and 8 wickets is akin to an innings defeat in a Test match. The Men in Blue are out of another ICC major championship —only this time not making it to the knock-out stage.

Is it such a rude shock? Not really. First, the hype. The IPL is the world’s most glamorous cricket carnival hosted by the richest cricket body, the BCCI. It has given opportunity and confidence to the younger players and enhanced the fitness levels of our cricketers. Some of India’s best have been spotted by IPL franchise scouts; Bumrah was discovered by the Mumbai Indians. The flip side is that it does not have the intensity found in major ICC tournaments or even in well-contested series especially with the SENA nations. The cricketers are feted as celebrities and the real contest and the competitive edge are missing. But here lies the catch. The fortunes of the IPL and Team India are interlinked. If the latter continues to underperform at major tournaments, the mass following for the IPL will dwindle.

Many well-paid commentators, including ex-cricketer experts, have all jumped onto the gravy train. So on international series and tours, they no longer objectively call out selection mistakes, wrong captaincy calls, poor reading of the game, bad sportsmanship, or cracks appearing in team spirit. So when Shastri says that this is the greatest Indian team ever, there is a chorus of approvals. While Kohli says his team can win from any situation, there is chest-thumping in the media. Overconfidence leads to bad results. Curiously, there is very little focus on Impact players from the other teams. Remember that Harsha Bhogle was put out in the cold for some time a few years back. His sin – he had something good to say about the competing international players also. Millions of die-hard fans have been fed this false narrative that our cricket team is head and shoulders above the other teams. Bad days like the 36 all out at Adelaide and the 78 at Headingley on the recent England tour and the defeats at the 2019 ODI WC and the World Test Championships in 2021 are all swept under the carpet.

Indian cricket has an abundance of talent and bench strength which is the envy of other cricketing nations. But this has to be mobilized and harnessed effectively by the captain, coach, selectors, and the BCCI. Captain Kohli’s in-one’s-face aggression has won him a huge legion of fans. But such relentless intensity has also undermined his batsmanship – he is showing symptoms of burn-out. He has been crass and hyper on the field and per reliable reports in the dressing room also. The dressing room environment gradually creeps onto the cricket field. It is bound to affect both team spirit and individual performances. Both are two sides of the same coin. Now let’s talk about Mr Shastri. As the captain’s hand-picked coach and Yes Man, he is also accountable for our futile run at the ICC tournaments. With a rich repository of cricket talent to tap into, this is not acceptable. The toxicity started with the ouster of Kumble as coach at Kohli’s behest and the silence from the BCCI and the cricket establishment. Virat Kohli has gradually become bigger than the game in India. Erratic selection, benching of in-form players, taking decisions solely by instinct, and throwing tantrums have all become acceptable over the years. Analytics inputs or sensible advice from the outside even by a reputed name have all been given the short end of the stick. Team bonding and consistency have suffered and even seasoned players have not played up to their potential.

The extended bio-bubble may have taken its toll on the players. It is also possible that some had tired legs or felt stale with the second leg of the IPL just before the WC T20. But this does not tell the entire story. Pakistan’s cricket team is driven by hunger, anger, and passion. They feel marginalized on the world cricket circuit and have grabbed this opportunity to drive home their point. They are playing out of their skins.

Front and Centre are 2 subjects which are almost taboo topics for our cricketing establishment or brotherhood. Thankfully, Madan Lal has been critical about the scheduling of the IPL second leg just before the T20 WC.  Kapil Dev has gone even further- whether the Indian cricketers are giving more preference to this cash rich franchise league than to the singular honour of playing for the country. In the future the BCCI will have to give serious thought to player work-loads and series and tournament schedules with the prime focus being that the Men in Blue bring home some much needed silverware. Else they are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. The success of the Indian Premier League draws from the success of the national cricket team.

The other relates to Virat Kohli’s captaincy. I guess the jury will always be out on this one. Kohli has become an icon for millions of Indian fans not only because of superlative batting performances but because of his raw aggression, passion for fitness and wearing his heart on his sleeve. Even after his team’s very disappointing exit from the ongoing T20 WC his army of admirers on social media hail him as King Kohli. The cricketing experts and the media in general are tip-toeing around the subject with diplomatic grace. We are living in some strange bubble.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Rahul Dravid will be the next coach. A true cricketing legend and a mentor for many of the younger stars through U19, India ‘A’, and the National Cricket Academy. Immense match experience and cricketing acumen: focused, grounded, level-headed, and universally respected. When The Wall walked out to bat one could see the Indian tricolour fluttering in the breeze. But he has his work cut out. There are challenging times ahead and he has to be given a free hand. Virat Kohli continues as captain for the Tests and ODI’s. Will he listen, change, adapt or even reinvent himself? Regain his mojo as a masterclass batsman? Some of the impressionable youngsters have bought into the hype and the celebrity-dom. They have to face the reality check and rediscover their day-to-day balance. Dravid’s mission is not just to get the Indian cricket team to bond together and play to their fullest potential. He has to get each person on the Indian team to value and respect the India cap to the fullest. And even more. Play to win but with the sporting spirit currently demonstrated by Kane Williamson’s Kiwis.