Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin questions Hardik Pandya decision to hand Krish Bhagat the death overs against CSK in IPL 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Krish Bhagat is a young fast bowler from Punjab who was added to the team as a replacement for Atharva Ankolekar, who got injured and was ruled out.
After being picked, Krish was straight away included in the playing XI against Gujarat Titans in the previous match. He bowled two overs in the powerplay and did a decent job, giving away only 10 runs.
In the match against Chennai Super Kings, Hardik Pandya gave him the responsibility of bowling in the death overs for his first spell. Krish gave away 15 runs in his first over and then bowled the final over where he leaked 16 runs, meaning he conceded 31 runs in total from his two overs.
Even though Hardik still had two overs left to bowl himself, he chose to trust the young pacer at the end. Earlier, Hardik had bowled two overs in the powerplay and gave away 19 runs in each over.
Ravichandran Ashwin, on his YouTube channel, said Hardik Pandya could have handled the death overs himself, recalling his performance in the T20 World Cup 2024 final where he defended 16 runs in the last over against David Miller.
He also said Krish Bhagat is inexperienced and did okay for a newcomer, but Hardik should have taken the responsibility in such pressure situations.
“With Hardik Pandya, I don’t have any personal relationship with him, but I always feel that he is a box office player. It is easy to say things about Hardik Pandya now, but today, when he gave Krish Bhagat the final over, I admit that Pandya went for 38 runs in two overs. But if a player can bowl the final over of the 2024 T20 World Cup against David Miller, you can bowl this too, right?” Ashwin said.
“Krish Bhagat does not have that much experience, I like how he bowled, he did not do too badly, but Pandya can take up that pressure. What’s the worst that will happen?” he added.
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Not only have Mumbai Indians lost five of the seven matches they have played in IPL 2026, but their skipper is also going through a tough run of form with both bat and ball.
With the ball, he has picked up only three wickets in six matches and has conceded runs at an economy rate of 12.66. With the bat, he has scored 97 runs in six innings at an average of 19.40 and a strike rate of 140.57.
Mumbai Indians next match is against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on April 29, and skipper Hardik Pandya will be looking to turn things around.
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