Former India cricketer Abhinav Mukund has voiced his disappointment with Hardik Pandya’s captaincy following India’s humiliating eight-wicket defeat against West Indies in Florida. The loss has garnered significant criticism for the Indian team. Mukund criticized Pandya’s decisions on both the bowling and strategy fronts during the series finale.

Mukund expressed that the bowling changes made by Pandya seemed unclear, particularly due to the role of rain in influencing the choice of bowlers for the powerplay. He stated that starting with Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh in the opening overs would have been a more suitable strategy. Mukund’s view was that the winning formula from the previous match, which involved Patel opening the bowling, should have been maintained.

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“I would have started with Axar Patel, which was the winning formula in the last match. Axar Patel should have started the bowling with the new ball with Arshdeep Singh,” Abhinav Mukund commented in a conversation with JioCinema.

Mukund also indicated that India seemed to deviate from their previous successful approach in the fourth T20I, potentially due to concerns about rain affecting play. However, he suggested that such drastic changes were unnecessary.

Despite India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey’s previous confirmation that young players Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma would be given an opportunity to bowl, Mukund criticized Pandya’s decision to experiment with them in such a crucial match. Jaiswal bowled an over, conceding 11 runs, while Varma gave away 17 runs in his two overs, taking one wicket.

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Mukund acknowledged that while the young players’ bowling might have long-term potential, it wasn’t effective in the current situation, contributing to India’s loss. The management’s experimentation with the bowling unit, including limiting Axar Patel to only one over, raised concerns about India’s preparedness for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023.