"Lose, Smile, Repeat Nonsense": Dale Steyn's Swipe At Hardik Pandya, Without Naming Him

Mumbai Indians suffered their 5th defeat in 8 matches as Rajasthan Royals solidified their position at the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 points table on Monday. RR's opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal roared back to form with a terrific hundred after Sandeep Sharma's maiden five-for as a Hardik Pandya's side took another step towards elimination from the T20 league. Despite the defeat, Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya refused to dig into the problems that exist in team, especially his own form. After the conclusion of the match South Africa legend Dale Steyn seemed to have taken a thinly veiled dig at Hardik, though the retired pacer refused to name the MI skipper.

Hardik has been one of the most talked-about cricketers in the IPL since the start of the tournament. His poor form, both with the bat and the ball, is one of the reasons behind MI's underwhelming performance in the IPL. Against Rajasthan, Hardik was poor in the field too, letting down his bowlers.

Steyn, who played for multiple franchises in the IPL, wasn't happy seeing words like 'trusting the process', 'sticking to basics' being used. Seeing the MI skipper opt for a 'safe' approach in the post-match presentation ceremony, Steyn seems to have shared a fiery post on X (formerly Twitter).

"I really look forward to the day players might say what's honestly on their mind. Instead, we some how dumbed ourselves and our minds into saying the usual safe thing, lose the next game, smile and then repeat that nonsense again," he posted.

I really look forward to the day players might say what's honestly on their mind. Instead we some how dumbed ourselves and our minds into saying the usual safe thing, lose the next game, smile and then repeat that nonsense again.