Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels the fans’ backlash towards Hardik Pandya could have been avoided had Mumbai Indians shown “clarity in communication” while announcing him as captain.
Shastri also advised Hardik to stay calm and weather the storm with solid performances.
“This is not the Indian cricket team that’s playing. This is franchise cricket. They have paid top dollar. They are the bosses. It’s their entitlement as to who they want as captain. Okay, where I think this could have been handled better was with more
clarity in communication,” Shastri, also a former India captain, told Star Sports’ ‘Cricket Live Show’.
“If you wanted Hardik Pandya as captain, then say that we are looking at the future. We are looking to build. Rohit has done a fabulous job, as everyone knows, and we want him to help out Hardik in these next three years as the team progresses.
“That communication, that clarity should have come out a little more for all this to die down. So it’s not a case of you saying, ‘No, we don’t want Rohit Sharma,’ or ‘He was treated badly,’ and all the things that are coming out in social media,” he added.
Shastri expects the tide to turn once Mumbai Indians start winning.
“So, my advice to Hardik would be to be calm, patient, ignore, and just focus on your game. Get a couple of performances going. Mumbai Indians is a terrific side. If
they get on a roll, they win three or four matches on the trot, everything will subside,” he said.
“At the end of the day, nothing beats results. You win matches, and things will change. There’s a lot of b*** c*** out there as well. You know, and some of the stories are just planted. A lot of it is just planted on other people’s names, including my name.”
Written with PTI inputs
