“He’s grinning too much”: Kevin Pietersen believes that Hardik Pandya’s performance is being impacted by the negative feedback from fans

Up until now, Hardik Pandya’s tenure as the captain of the Mumbai Indians has been mostly unpleasant. The Indian Premier League’s outstanding all-rounder has been the target of criticism from the crowd this season. This has been going on on social media ever since he replaced Rohit Sharma as captain of MI, who guided the team to five IPL championships. However, it has now also been seen on the grounds.

Former cricket player Kevin Pietersen, who is attempting to project happiness, feels that Hardik’s performance is being negatively impacted by the response. “I really believe that Hardik Pandya is being greatly impacted by things outside of the game. When he tosses, his smile goes too far. He’s making an effort to seem very joyful. He is not content. I have visited the place. I have experienced being fired. You are impacted by it; I can tell you that now. In an interview with Star Sports during the MI vs. CSK game, Pietersen said, “If what’s happening to Hardik Pandya?”

He said that Hardik would not want to be abused in this manner, saying that it is hurtful for supporters to attack a player in this manner. It stings because Hardik Pandya is an Indian player and he has feelings. Consider the taunts we’ve only started to hear about him and how delighted they are to watch the previous captain of CSK, the lion, MS Dhoni, slapping him all over the field. Furthermore, he objects to this kind of treatment. He is so impacted by this while it is occurring. Something has to change because it’s impacting his cricket,” the former England player said.

He also attacked Hardik’s leadership for failing to come to the aid of the spinners while Shivam Dube was at the wicket, even though the pacers were also going for runs. “This evening’s performance was not up to par. I saw a captain using plan A from a five-hour-old team meeting and another captain refusing to move to plan B when it was time to do so. Like, when your seamers are going for 20, how in the world have you not bowled a spinner? Could we possibly bowl a spinner, said Brian Lara? Here’s where someone has to bowl. Pietersen evaluated Hardik’s leadership against CSK and said, “You need to change the pace of the game.”

Throughout the current season, Hardik has not played at his peak level with the bat or the ball. In six games, he has amassed 131 runs and three wickets. It seems that he is also under pressure.