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[Saba Sports News] Gautam Gambhir, former Indian cricketer and current mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders, recently defended Mumbai Indians’ skipper Hardik Pandya amidst criticism from Kevin Pietersen and AB de Villiers about his leadership style.
Ironically, both Pietersen and de Villiers have poor records as captains—Pietersen won only 11 out of 36 games and de Villiers 75 out of 133. Pandya, who replaced Rohit Sharma as captain, has only four victories in 13 matches since his return to the Mumbai Indians.
Gambhir pointed out that those criticizing Pandya don’t have notable leadership records themselves. He emphasized that despite Pietersen and de Villiers being exceptional players, their leadership credentials lacked any significant achievements. “When they themselves were captains, what were their own performances like? I don’t think whether it’s Kevin Pietersen or AB de Villiers, there have ever been notable performances from a leadership point of view. If you look up their records, it would be worse than any other leader,” Gambhir shared.
Pietersen responded to the clip on X, embracing the remark with humor. “He’s not wrong. I was a terrible captain,” Pietersen wrote with laughter emojis.
Kevin Pietersen’s Track Record as Captain Almost four years after making his ODI debut for England, Pietersen led England in a five-match ODI series against India, which resulted in a whitewash despite his 225 runs in the series. He had a 40% win record in ODIs, with two out of 12 matches ending in no result. In Tests, Pietersen recorded one win, one draw, and one loss. His IPL captaincy for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils saw only three wins out of 17 matches.