Pandya’s leadership has been under the scanner after Mumbai Indians were forced out of the IPL 2024 playoffs race, having managed only four wins from 13 games. He has received a lot of flak for his lacklustre outing both as a player and captain.

De Villiers has been one of the most prominent critics vocal against Pandya’s “ego-driven” captaincy style.  He reckoned that Pandya’s “bravado” leadership approach has been ineffective in a Mumbai team comprising multiple experienced stars. However, the former South African international later clarified that his words were taken out of context.

Speaking onSportskeeda, Gambhir slammed De Villiers for his comments, questioning the latter’s impact as a leader in the IPL: “What was his own performance when he was the captain?”

“I don’t think, be it Kevin Pietersen or AB de Villiers, they had any performance in their career with leadership. Nothing if you pick and see their records. I don’t think AB de Villiers has achieved anything in the IPL apart from his own scores. I don’t think he has achieved anything from a team’s point of view.”

It’s worth noting that De Villiers wasn’t the only former cricketer to cast doubt over Pandya’s leadership, as Kevin Pietersen has also criticised the all-rounder for his bowling changes, among many others including Dale Steyn.  “He is smiling too much at the toss. He is trying to act like he’s so happy. He’s not happy. I have been there,” Pietersen reckoned.

Pandya led the Gujarat Titans to a title win in their inaugural season in 2022, followed by a runners-up finish the next year. He switched allegiance to Mumbai Indians before the 2024 auction at a record undisclosed fee and replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain.

“Give Hardik a bit more time”

Gamhir urged everyone to allow Pandya some time to settle into the new franchise and not be overtly critical of him. “Give him (Hardik) a bit more time. Judging him everyday in every match and everytime is not right,” he said.

“Those experts should see their own performances when they have captained a side. It’s probably worse than any other leader. Ultimately it’s the performance and today Mumbai Indians have not performed well so everyone is talking about it.”