“It has not been as consistent as we would have hoped and, again, the results are showing. So it’s something that you can’t shy away from,” Pollard said at the press conference after the game. “You can sit and you can try to pinpoint every little aspect of it, but, again, collectively, I think we have not been good enough.
“Two teams play. You win some, you lose some. And we have been on the losing side. So yes, we have accepted that. We have not accepted defeat, but we have accepted that we have been on the losing side more often than not so far in this tournament. But overall, we have not accepted defeat in this tournament because we are not out of it. And we are still looking to go back and see what we can do to see how far we can get in the tournament.”
“We are unfortunate, you know, to always be in the public eye. So when we do bad, it’s always being highlighted. But when normal people have jobs and they send the wrong email, they have the opportunity to edit the words and all these things. We don’t have the opportunity,” Pollard said. “So it’s fair and fine when you’re not doing well, you accept certain things. And knowing the individual, I know he’s going to bounce back with greater heights and take wickets.
“And we are all, again, going to be singing ‘Bumrah, Bumrah’, not only for Mumbai Indians, but for India. So, again, let’s cut him a little slack.”
Saba Karim: ‘Bowlers have got Hardik Pandya’s number’
Karim argued that Hardik, talented as he is, has failed to reinvent himself even as the game itself has changed dramatically.
“If you look at the other batters, all of them have reinvented their game,” Karim said. “They’ve become more multi-dimensional. They can play here, they can play the short delivery, and they are well equipped to play the upper[cut] shot. So they have kind of worked hard on the game. And I think in terms of batting, Hardik needs to do that. He’s an exceptional talent. He has done so well for India, even for MI, in difficult situations. But I just feel that at this stage, the opposition bowlers have got his number in terms of the length that they’re bowling to him.”
“It’s bowling at the right times. I think there’s this tendency for him to want to take the new ball and just rolling that out,” McClenaghan said. “And what I’ve noticed is just the accuracy has just been a little bit off. He’s bowling three or four good balls and missing on those other two balls. And one good ball gets nicked, that over is still going for 14 with those additional two bad balls.
“I’d like him to take some more ownership and put himself into positions – which we’ve seen him do internationally – where he can bowl at the backend of the powerplay, or towards the backend of the innings. And I think when he knows what’s required in that over, rather than just running up and bowling and just waiting for the batsman to react, then he’s a bit more deliberate with his plans.”
