Image Source: X
[Saba Sports News] Social media users criticized former Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan for his controversial tweet following the Mumbai Indians’ loss under Hardik Pandya’s leadership in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pathan’s tweet, which blamed Pandya for not using Jasprit Bumrah to bowl the first over against Delhi Capitals’ opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, sparked outrage. Fraser-McGurk had capitalized on the opportunity, smashing 84 off 27 balls, helping set a formidable total of 257/4.
Critics on X (formerly Twitter) were displeased with Pathan’s focus on Pandya while ignoring Rohit Sharma’s ineffective performance; Sharma scored only 8 runs from 8 balls, adding pressure on the subsequent batters. This selective critique led to accusations of bias, with fans labeling Pathan a hypocrite.
Speculation about Pandya’s potential selection for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) event by the committee led by Ajit Agarkar is rife, despite Pandya’s recent form concerns both with bat and ball. Notably, Pandya has faced intense scrutiny and negative crowd reactions since replacing Rohit Sharma as captain before the 17th IPL edition.
Pathan has voiced that Indian cricket overly prioritizes Pandya, suggesting a need to evaluate his impact more critically, especially given his modest international performances compared to his IPL showings.
“What I feel about Hardik Pandya is that Indian cricket needs to make it clear that they should not give him that much priority as they have given him so far, because we still haven’t won the World Cup. And if you think you are a primary all-rounder, you need to make that kind of an impact at the international level. We are getting confused between the IPL performances and the international performances. That’s a big difference,” Pathan commented.
He further criticized the approach of Indian cricket to favor individuals, urging a focus on team dynamics over individual stardom to achieve success in major tournaments, drawing parallels with Australian cricket’s philosophy.