Former New Zealand fast bowler, Simon Duoll has made an explosive remark about Mumbai Indians’ newly-appointed captain Hardik Pandya. Duoll claimed that Hardik Pandya may be nursing an injury despite not acknowledging it. This observation stems from Hardik’s change in bowling patterns in IPL 2024. After bowling in the first two matches, he abstained from bowling in the subsequent two games.
Simon Doull Made An Explosive Remark About Hardik Pandya’s Fitness
In the recent game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hardik Pandya bowled just one over and then didn’t continue. Doull expressed his suspicion, suggesting something might be amiss with Hardik. He mentioned it’s his intuition that Hardik could be dealing with an injury.
“You go out and make a statement by opening the bowling in game no. 1, and suddenly, you are not required. He’s injured. I’m telling you there is something wrong with him. He is not admitting it. But there is something wrong with him for sure. That is my gut feeling,” Doull said on Cricbuzz.
Earlier, Hardik was questioned about his choice to refrain from bowling in the match against Delhi Capitals. However, the Mumbai Indians captain responded, stating that he would bowl when the ‘right time’ comes. Hardik said:
“All good, will be bowling at the right time. Had it covered, so didn’t need to roll my arm over.”
Notably, Hardik faced a setback after sustaining an ankle injury during the Cricket World Cup 2023 clash with Bangladesh. He only participated in a few matches before joining IPL 2024. With the T20 World Cup 2024 looming, any injury concerns could pose significant challenges for him.
Before the new IPL season began, Hardik Pandya assumed the captaincy of the Mumbai Indians from Rohit Sharma. This shift led to some fans booing him during MI matches. However, Virat Kohli expressed disapproval of this response. In a recent match, he encouraged the crowd to support Hardik instead.
