India dashing all-rounder batsmen Hardik Pandya and his brother Krunal Pandya have been instrumental in helping Mumbai Indians become the most successful team in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 over the years. In 2017, the Pandya brothers edged up a string of consistent performances with both bat and ball as Mumbai Indians walked away with their third IPL title back in 2017 and also show efforts in ongoing IPL matches specially Hardik Pandiya unbelievable catch against Delhi Daredevils.
This year, things have gone downhill for the defending champions as out of their first victory in four matches. In fact, the Mumbai based side won their first game only on Tuesday when they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 46 runs to end their three-match losing streak. One of the reasons affecting Mumbai’s performance this season is Hardik Pandya’s below par performance.
Hardik’s bowling in the particular game has been sloppy and Gavaskar believes it’s high time Mumbai changed their tactics of bringing him to bowl inside the powerplay overs. “Teams now know not to bring a spinner on when Hardik Pandya is batting, for he can smash them out of the ground. However, he does not find the seamers that easy to belt and so he will be confronted by most captains. Mumbai also must look at their tactic of bringing him on when the field restrictions are in place, for he can be expensive than his brother,” Gavaskar further wrote in his column.