Irfan Pathan memes hit X after fans accused him of targeting Mumbai Indians star Hardik Pandya ahead of India’s T20 World Cup team selection.
Twitter was flooded with memes on ex-India cricketer Irfan Pathan after fans accused him of targeting Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya during his commentary stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where the 30-year-old all-rounder has faced severe flak for his under-par performances in the prestigious tournament. Besides, with India’s T20 World Cup squad to be announced in the next few days, there is an intense buzz about Hardik Pandya on social media.
Irfan pathan when hardik pandya makes any mistake 😂#RRvsMI https://t.co/qk9h2XQ61L pic.twitter.com/iKGiZm8v6I
— stethoscope 🩺 (@Stethkid) April 22, 2024
Irfan Pathan after every Hardik Performance pic.twitter.com/ZN61qAAhh4
— Ash (@Ashsay_) April 22, 2024
Hardik Pandya breathes
Irfan Pathan – Had he breathe in some other way, things would’ve been different
— Aparna (@AppeFizzz) April 27, 2024
Hardik Pandya makes a small mistake
Irfan Pathan: pic.twitter.com/cbzYyrjTA6
— short mid wicket (@ParasKatwal3) April 22, 2024
Hardik Pandya fails.
Irfan Pathan – #TATAIPL #RRvMI #CricketTwitter https://t.co/dLywEYxslQ pic.twitter.com/CldMrxGfug— Sæn (@TheHelmetPunch) April 22, 2024
Speculation is rife that India’s selection committee-headed by Ajit Agarkar is set to announce Hardik Pandya’s name in the 15-member side that would participate in the International Cricket Council (ICC) event later this year.
However, recent reports also suggest that Hardik Pandya’s bowling form would be a factor in his selection for the T20 World Cup.
One must remember that Hardik Pandya was named as the captain of the Mumbai Indians ahead of the 17th edition of the IPL, replacing the much-loved Rohit Sharma from that position.
Since then, fans have been giving an extremely harsh reception to Hardik Pandya during MI’s IPL fixtures across the country, with the 30-year-old cricketer facing boos and even expletives on occasions.
Moreover, he has been woefully out of form – both with bat and the ball, with cricket pundits divided over his or Shivam Dube’s inclusion in the team for the T20 World Cup.
He’s managed to score only 197 runs at a mediocre average of 24.63 with a highest score of 46 in the nine matches he’s played in the tournament so far.
It is worth highlighting that his highest score of 46 came against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday when Hardik Pandya showcased his class for the first time in IPL 2024 as he took their spinners, including Kuldeep Yadav to the cleaners.
In the bowling department, the Gujarat-born all-rounder has hardly bowled and when he has taken up the ball, he has gone for plenty of runs.
Hardik Pandya has picked just four wickets in eight games but what would be worrying the Mumbai Indians management is his economy rate.
In the 19 overs, Hardik Pandya has bowled, he has been virtually clobbered by opposition batters, allowing them to cherry-pick him for sixes and boundaries. The result is that he has given away runs at 11.95 per over.
In contrast, Shivam Dube has made 311 runs in 8 matches, including three half-centuries in IPL 2024. But what’s impressive in his numbers is his strike-rate, which stands at 169.95 at present.
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In his last outing against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Tamil Nadu, Shivam Dube smacked a blistering 66 off 27 balls for the Chennai Super Kings, which earned him rich plaudits from many former Indian cricketers, who urged Ajit Agarkar and Co. to pick in the T20 World Cup squad.
Against this backdrop, Irfan Pathan lashed out at Hardik Pandya, underlining that he’s got undue importance for being the lone world-class fast-bowling all-rounder in the country.
According to him, he shouldn’t be given that much importance because his performances at the international level haven’t been that great.
“What I feel about Hardik Pandya is that Indian cricket needs to make it clear that they should not give him that much priority as they have given him so far, because we still haven’t won the World Cup. And if you think you are a primary all-rounder, you need to make that kind of an impact at the international level. As far as the all-rounder is concerned, he hasn’t made that impact at the international level, we are only thinking about the potential. We are getting confused between the IPL performances and the international performances. That’s a big difference,” Irfan Pathan told Star Sports.
“First of all, he needs to play throughout the full year. He cannot pick and choose. Indian cricket needs to stop doing that. Stop giving preferences to individuals, if you do that, you will not be winning major tournaments. What Australia has been doing for many years is that they are actually preferring the team game. Making everyone a superstar. Not one superstar, everybody is a superstar in the squad. If you don’t do that, you will not win big tournaments,” the former India fast bowler pointed out.
But Hardik Pandya’s supporters were not convinced by Irfan Pathan’s arguments, maintaining that the former India speedster never criticized Rohit Sharma the way he’s targeting the 30-year-old cricketer.
“When Hardik Pandya didn’t bat well, Irfan Pathan targeted him. Now, when he’s batted well, he’s found another reason to criticize, saying he should have brought in Bumrah. What’s the logic here? It’s crystal clear there’s an agenda against Hardik Pandya. Not a single tweet about how well he batted and how Mumbai’s top order faltered on a flat track for Mumbai Indians. This is pure agenda-driven behavior,” a Hardik Pandya admirer wrote on X.
