Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has said that it was a wrong decision from Hardik Pandya and the Mumbai Indians leadership group to make Krish Bhagat bowl towards the end of the innings to a rampaging Sanju Samson, hinting that the game got away from MI’s hands at that point.
A team that looked formidable on paper, stacked with proven match-winners and India’s T20 World Cup-winning stars like Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Tilak Varma and Pandya, was tipped as a title contender before the season.
But seven games in, MI find themselves in a must-win situation, battling to stay alive in the playoff race, with inconsistency and an inability to close out key moments leaving them on the back foot at a crucial stage.
“You (Hardik Pandya) make Krish Bhagat, who is playing his second match, bowl his first over in the 15th or 16th over against a set Sanju Samson. It was a wrong decision. You gave the last over to him, which was again not the right decision,” Pathan said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
“You need to take responsibility and do better as a captain. The team batting first has won four out of the last six T20s at Wankhede, but you wanted to chase here after winning the toss,” Pathan said.
Samson carried his bat with a superb unbeaten 101, while Akeal Hosein starred with 4/17 to power Chennai Super Kings to a commanding 103-run win against the Mumbai Indians.
