The Indian Premier League (IPL) has returned for its 17th season, and the league is beginning to hot up as we reach the business end of the tournament. One team, however, that is not involved in the playoffs race is five-time champion Mumbai Indians.
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The Hardik Pandya-led side have struggled this season, ever since the all-rounder was brought back to the franchise and took over from Rohit Sharma in a move that proved controversial and divisive among fans and experts alike.
Is Hardik Pandya a better captain than AB De Villiers? Listing down the South Africa and RCB star's captaincy record
Several former cricketers have both criticised and supported the move. Among the former have been ex-England batter Kevin Pietersen and South African legend AB de Villiers. Current KKR coach Gautam Gambhir defended Pandya on Tuesday, taking a shot at them by saying they had not had much success with the captaincy in their careers.
But how does de Villiers' captaincy record compare to Pandya's? In international cricket, he has captained in white-ball formats far more than Pandya has thus far, with an impressive win rate as well. However, de Villiers has never led his side in an IPL match, for RCB or Delhi Daredevils whereas Pandya led Gujarat Titans to one title and one final ahead of this season's disappointment with MI.
| Matches | Wins | Losses | Tie/NR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB de Villiers | 124 | 69 | 49 | 1/5 |
| Hardik Pandya | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1/0 |
| Matches | Wins | Losses | Tie/NR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB de Villiers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 |
| Hardik Pandya | 49 | 29 | 20 | 0/0 |
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