Mumbai: Once Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday at the Uppal stadium, it meant Mumbai Indians were knocked out of the playoff race and they became the first side to exit as well. MI has merely won four out of their 12 games. Now reports emerge that senior MI players have questioned Hardik Pandya’s style of captaincy. An Indian Express report claims that MI players have conveyed to the coaching staff that there is not much buzz inside the dressing-room.
“These are regular teething problems for a team that sees leadership change. This happens in sports all the time,” an MI official said.
The report also claims that the meeting happened over a meal where the MI cricketers met the staff. Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah are the names mentioned in the report that raised the dissent.
What Hardik had said about Tilak Verma:
“When Axar Patel (DC bowler) was bowling to a left-hander (Tilak), the better option could have been to go after him,” Hardik told the broadcasters.
“I think it was just a little game awareness that we missed out on. At the end of the day, that cost us the game,” he had added.
Playoff Race Update:
Even if MI wins their next two games, they will only have 12 points after eight losses already.
But SRH’s victory ensured they advanced to 14 points in the standings. With DC and LSG set to face on May 14, one of the two would also get 14 points which means MI will not be able to make the cut.
Due to the fact that the loser will be eliminated from the competition, the PBKS vs RCB match is now a “do or die” situation for both sides.