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[Saba Sports News] Former South African batting great AB de Villiers addressed the controversy surrounding his comments on Hardik Pandya’s captaincy for Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2024. De Villiers clarified that his remarks were misquoted and taken out of context, expressing his admiration for Hardik’s leadership.
Pandya, who previously led Gujarat Titans (GT) to the IPL title in 2022 and to the finals in 2023, faced immense criticism when he took over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma at MI for the 2024 season.
De Villiers expressed disappointment at the misrepresentation of his comments, stating, “I see there is a lot of activity on X about the comments I made about Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians. And it’s a shame that journalism and reporting has got so low (laughs). I am very happy that some of you have pointed it out, taking some of those comments out and leaving the rest,” he said on his YouTube show.
He clarified that his comments on Hardik’s brave style of captaincy were not meant as criticism. “I very clearly stated and I will state this again, I love the way Hardik Pandya plays his game. I love the way he captains. His style of captaincy is something that he has certainly worked on. It’s not something that you can just walk out of the door and you are a brave captain,” De Villiers added.
De Villiers explained that his comments were about the difficulty of adapting to Hardik’s intense style of leadership. “Why I said it’s always not genuine is because I played the same way. I was not the soft-spoken, genuine AB de Villiers that I was at home. The guy you saw on the field was in a way ‘an act’. Sometimes, you have to put up a front and show the opposition that you are a force to reckon with. That’s what Hardik Pandya does. I am saying that style is not always the easiest to adapt to, especially for some senior players,” he explained.
He also criticized the reporters who misinterpreted his statements about the 30-year-old all-rounder. “I love Hardik Pandya, that’s what I said. To you reporters out there, I am sorry to burst your bubble,” De Villiers concluded.
Despite MI’s star-studded lineup, the five-time champions struggled under Hardik’s leadership, becoming the first team to be eliminated from the tournament. They currently languish in the ninth position on the points table with just four wins in 13 matches.