Former India coach Kris Srikkanth hit out at Hardik Pandya, calling him a plastic captain and questioning his intent with the bat during the clash against CSK in Chepauk on Saturday, May 3.
CSK vs MI: MAIN | SCORECARD
But the MI skipper struggled to find any rhythm during his innings, scoring 18 off 23 balls as the visitors went from 109 for four in 12.5 overs to finish the innings on 159 for seven. Hardik was dismissed in the final and hit just two boundaries during the innings. CSK eventually won the match by 8 wickets.
Hardik bowled a total of 10 dot balls during his innings which shocked Srikkanth. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former selector questioned what Hardik was trying to do at that point in the innings as MI’s rating rate continued to drop.
“Look at the numbers – 18 runs off 23 balls. What is that? It’s a plastic captain.”
“Look at that partnership – what was the intention? What was Hardik Pandya trying for? When you check the number of balls in the middle overs, it’s clear that there was no proper calculation or awareness of the game. The run rate dropped very drastically during that phase,” Srikkanth said.
“From about the 6th or 7th over, they started at about 9 runs an over, but then it went down — 7, 7, one over from 13, then 10, then 6. Then 5, 4, 3, 7, 4 there they lost it completely between overs 12 to 16.”
Hardik’s strike rate of 136.45 this season was a concern as MI lacked firepower in the middle. Even then, Srikkanth was wondering what the MI skipper’s plan was to counter CSK’s suffocating death toll.
“Honestly, I couldn’t understand what they were trying to do. What was the plan?”
CSK EXPOSED HARDIK’S WEAKNESS
One thing that CSK did well was to ensure that they did not give Hardik any reward and focused on his body, especially Jamie Overton.
Srikkanth said that teams now know the trick to lock Hardik and will constantly target his body.
“They’re not going to bowl in the slot again. They’re going to lock him in. They knew if he bowls a length he’s going to break them. So they’re not going to bite there,” Srikkanth said.
MI will face LSG in their next match on May 4 at the Wankhede.
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Published on:
May 3, 2026 1:13 PM IST
