☰

Gautam Gambhir slams AB de Villiers for criticising Hardik Pandya’s captaincy

Pandya’s leadership has come under scrutiny after Mumbai Indians' elimination from IPL 2024 playoffs contention

By Web Desk

May 14, 2024

AB de Villiers has never won an IPL as a player. - BCCI

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir has slammed former South African captain AB de Villiers for criticising Hardik Pandya’s captaincy in the ongoing IPL 2024.

Pandya’s leadership has come under scrutiny following Mumbai Indians' elimination from the IPL 2024 playoffs contention, having secured only four victories from 13 matches.

He has faced significant criticism for his disappointing performance both as a player and captain.

De Villiers, who played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) from 2011 to 2021, has emerged as one of the leading critics outspoken against Pandya’s "ego-driven" style of captaincy.

He mentioned that Pandya's "bravado" approach to leadership has proven ineffective within a Mumbai team featuring numerous seasoned stars but later he clarified that his remarks were misconstrued.

Gambhir, who won IPL 2012 and 2014 as captain, questioned De villiers' impact as the leader while speaking on Sportskeeda.

“What was his own performance when he was the captain?” I don’t think, be it Kevin Pietersen or AB de Villiers, they had any performance in their career with leadership. Nothing if you pick and see their records," he said.

"I don’t think AB de Villiers has achieved anything in the IPL apart from his own scores. I don’t think he has achieved anything from a team’s point of view," he added.

Pandya guided the Gujarat Titans to a title victory in their debut season in 2022 and then secured a runners-up position the following year. Ahead of the 2024 auction, he transferred to the Mumbai Indians, taking over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma.

Gambhir requested everyone to give Pandya some time to settle into the new franchise and not be overly critical of him. “Give him (Hardik) a bit more time. Judging him everyday in every match and everytime is not right,” he said.

“Those experts should see their own performances when they have captained a side. It’s probably worse than any other leader. Ultimately it’s the performance and today Mumbai Indians have not performed well so everyone is talking about it.”