Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard has thrown his weight behind Hardik Pandya amid the noise regarding his captaincy in IPL 2024. The former all-rounder hit out at the critics, stating that people should stop nitpicking at one player's performance, given cricket is a team sport.
Pandya had a match to forget on Sunday as he conceded 43 runs off 3 overs, albeit taking 2 wickets. However, the 26-run 20th over, with 3 sixes off MS Dhoni bat adversely hurt the home side as the Super Kings went from 180 to 206. With a stiff chase of 207 set for the Mumbai Indians, the 30-year-old fell for 2 off 6 deliveries as they eventually fell short by 20 runs despite Rohit Sharma's unbeaten 105.
Speaking at a presser after the match, Pollard assured that Pandya has been a great presence around the group and wants people to rally behind him, stating:
"I don't know if it will affect his confidence. He is a confident guy, he has been great around the group. I am fed up of [us] looking to pinpoint individuals; cricket is a team game at the end of the day. This is an individual that is going to represent the country in less than six weeks' time, and all are going to cheer him and want him to do well. So high time we try to encourage and stop nitpicking and see if we can get the best out of one of the great allrounders India has produced."
"All of us will be singing his praises when time comes" - Kieron Pollard
Pollard further commented that Pandya will come good on all fronts as mistakes are part and parcel of evolution as a player. The Trinidadian added:
"As an individual you have to evolve. When you are young, you have the youthful exuberance. You go out and do things in a certain manner. The older you get, accountability and responsibility kick in. What I am seeing is the guy is evolving. We, as individuals, want to see certain things but sometimes the game does not demand certain things and [players] are going to make mistakes as you go along, as we all have done. The individual has put in the work and hard work pays off. So, all of us will be singing his praises when time comes."
The 20-run loss was Mumbai Indians' 4th loss of the season.
