Former England batter Kevin Pietersen has bluntly weighed in on Hardik Pandya‘s difficult situation with the Mumbai Indians. Pandya has faced booing from fans at every venue, including Mumbai’s home stadium, since becoming captain in place of Rohit Sharma.

His homecoming as captain has not gone smoothly, as fans have disapproved the franchise’s decision to replace Sharma, who led the team to five IPL titles. The flamboyant all-rounder has faced intense criticism both on the field and on social media. Rohit and Virat Kohli urged the fans to stop targeting Pandya as he is one of the Indian players.

During the intense MI vs CSK match, Pietersen criticized Hardik’s captaincy for failing to utilize his spinners when the pacers were being hit all over the field. Shreyas Gopal bowled only one over on Sunday, and Mohammad Nabi did not complete his full quota either.

“He lacked flexibility in his strategy during the match. Despite the seamers leaking runs, Pandya stubbornly stuck to the bowling plan formulated hours earlier rather than adapting as the situation demanded. Even Brian Lara advised bowling spin to change the tempo. A more profound tactical approach was needed.” Pietersen said.

Pietersen asserted that Hardik Pandya is putting on a fake smile by smiling excessively at the toss and during fielding, suggesting the Indian all-rounder is actually bothered by the booing from fans. Drawing on his own experience of facing fan backlash during his career, Pietersen empathized that he understands how it feels when fans turn against you.

“Hardik Pandya’s off-field issues seem to be negatively impacting his on-field performance. His overly cheerful demeanor during the coin toss appears forced. Having faced intense public scrutiny myself, I recognize the signs of inner turmoil. This type of external pressure can impact a player’s mental state and game,” he added.

“The boos and hostile reception Hardik Pandya has been receiving from the crowd are clearly affecting him emotionally and hurting his performance. As an Indian player, he understandably does not want to be treated this way by home crowds. The ecstatic cheers Dhoni and CSK received also added to Pandya’s pain. This difficult atmosphere seems to be negatively impacting Pandya’s mental state and cricket. The situation needs to be addressed so that he is not unfairly singled out for such harsh treatment from Indian crowds,” he concluded.

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