Legendary South African cricketer AB de Villiers has hit back after his comments regarding Hardik Pandya’s captaincy were seemingly misconstrued. De Villiers expressed disappointment over the issue, adding he loves the way Hardik leads a team.

ABD issued the response after he suggested Pandya’s captaincy was “ego-driven” which had brought him success at Gujarat Titans but the seniors in the MI camp were unable to adjust to such a style of captaincy.  

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“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 got 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,” De Villiers said in a video posted on his YouTube channel. 

“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.”

The former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter said even during his playing days, he had to put on an ‘act’ in front of the cameras, as Pandya is doing, 

“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.” 

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