Reporting has gotten so low: Villiers

I love the way Pandya's captains: Villiers

The guy you saw on the field was in a way ‘an act’: Villiers

Former South African batsman AB de Villers had earlier remarked that the captaincy style of Hardik Pandya is ego driven. It was however not with a negative connotation that he made this remark. Since his comment was taken out of context, he provided a clarification through a YouTube video. “I see there is a lot of activity on X about the comments I made about Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians. And it’s a shame that journalism and reporting has gotten so low (laughs). And I am very happy that some of you have pointed it out, taking some of those comments out and leaving the rest. I very clearly stated and I will state this again – I absolutely love the way Hardik Pandya plays his game. I love the way he captains. All I can say is, his style of captaincy is something that he has certainly worked on. It’s not something that you can just walk out of the door and you are a brave captain,” AB de Villiers said. 

Also Read: The captaincy style of Hardik Pandya is ego-driven: AB de Villiers

Another aspect of AB de Villiers’ statement which was misinterpreted was when he remarked that Hardik Pandya’s bravado on the field is not genuine. AB de Villiers qualified that statement by stating that this is a method involving strategic calculations which many captains follow. “Why I said it’s always not genuine is because I played exactly the same way. I was not the soft-spoken, genuine AB de Villiers that I was at my home. The guy you saw on the field was in a way ‘an act’. Sometimes, you have to put up a front and show the opposition that you are a force to reckon with. That’s what Hardik Pandya does,” he added.