'Dhoni is Dhoni. You cannot match someone else' - Experts weigh in on Hardik Pandya dropping himself down the order against GT

The homecoming of Hardik Pandya, the man to lead the three-season old Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL triumph in 2022 and to a runners-up finish, didn't go as he would have liked, with his captaincy debut with the Mumbai Indians culminating in a six-run defeat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 24.

Opening the bowling, Hardik could never find his groove and went for 30 in the three overs he bowled. Being someone who woud walk in at No. 3 or 4 for his former franchise, he arrived in the middle at number 7 and couldn't put the game to bed, and ended up getting dismissed on the third ball of the final over of the match, after smacking the previous two deliveries for a six and a four, respectively. 

However, the talk of the town was the decision to make himself wait till late in the match for a chance to come out in the middle with the bat, on which the likes of Irfan Pathan, Mohammed Shami, and Manoj Tiwary had quite a lot to express. 

Also Read: Reports: Chennai to host IPL 2024 final as league stays in India amidst General Elections

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan expressed bewilderment as Tim David was sent ahead of Hardik Pandya with one over of Rashid Khan still remaining. He took to X and expressed that he would have personally gone with an Indian batter over an overseas one facing a spinner any day of the week. 

Indian pace bowling spearhead, Mohammed Shami, who played under Pandya's captaincy at GT for the past couple of seasons, spoke to Cricbuzz on MI's batting strategy during their curtain-raiser against GT. He opined that each individual has a unique skill-set, be it MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli. He stated that Pandya should have continued batting at number 3 or 4, like he was for the past couple of seasons, at maximum at number 5, but not at number 7.

"Dhoni is Dhoni. You cannot match someone else. Everyone has a different mindset, whether it is Dhoni or Kohli. You should stay in the game depending on your skill. You batted at No. 3 and 4 in the last two seasons. You are used to that position. You can at the most bat at No. 5, but not at No. 7," said Shami on his chat with Cricbuzz.

Also Read: IPL 2024: Bhojpuri commentators lambasted for use of 'offensive language', video goes viral

I feel it wasn't his call: Tiwary on Pandya coming in at No. 7

Tiwary was of the opinion that it was likely that the decision was made by MI's mentor Sachin Tendulkar, considering the disparity between the Mumbai and Gujarat dugouts, as suggested by Irfan. He reckoned that due to MI investing heavily in younsters like Tilak Varma and Dewald Brevis, Hardik might have gotten influenced by coach Mark Boucher, along with the team management to drop down the order.

"I feel it wasn't his call. In Gujarat, I feel, only two people were running the game, Hardik and Nehra. In the Mumbai dugout, there are some big names present. So probably, they might have influenced him to drop down the order because they have invested a lot on young players like Tilak Varma and Brevis. Mark Boucher will obviously listen to Sachin, he will then discuss with other members of the team management and decide," Tiwary added.