Hardik Pandya, who captained the Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL title win in 2022, is yet to do something significant with the Mumbai Indians (MI). Since his return to MI as the captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, one of the most successful franchises in the league, has had to suffer multiple hot and cold moments.
In this year’s Indian Premier League, MI have lost six out of eight matches, which has made them uncertain for the play-offs. To keep relevant in the title race, they will have to win in their remaining group fixtures. After the Mumbai Indians’ defeat against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium, the question has been raised, “Which current retained players should MI release ahead of the next IPL mega auction?”
Should MI keep Hardik Pandya as their captain?
The question was raised during the Cricbuzz talk show with the cricket experts Pommie Mbangwa and Simon Doull. Simon Doull, a former New Zealand cricketer, now a cricket pundit and commentator felts that ahead of the next season, the franchise should release Hardik Pandya from the set-up.
In response to the question, Doull straightaway raised his concerns over the captaincy of the Mumbai Indians. Currently, they are ninth in the 10-team league with only 4 points and a net run rate of -0.784 as they have secured only 2 wins in 8 matches.
Doull believes that if the franchise decides to think beyond Hardik Pandya for the leadership role, then he should be released from the squad, as under his leadership, the team has underperformed in back-to-back seasons.
Simon Doull suggests MI to release Pandya
“My point would be: who is your captain next year? If they are going to change something, who is going to be the captain next year? If it is not going to be Hardik Pandya, release him. Only because I don’t know how he will perform in an environment where he has underperformed, his team has underperformed for three years, and then his job goes,” Simon Doull said.
If MI decides to keep Hardik Pandya with themselves, but only as the pace bowling all-rounder, will it work in their favor? Doull does not doubt the skillset of Pandya. But it could be disrespectful for him if the team management keeps him in a non-leadership role.
Doull raises concerns over Pandya’s role in MI
“It might free him up, it might not. It might make him feel, ‘I have failed.’ It could go either way. When fully fit, Hardik has been one of the best all-rounders in the game. My only point is, if he is going to be the captain, is he willing to take the backseat, put in the hard yards, and just be Hardik-the great player-yet again?” he added.
Against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, MI secured a healthy total of 243 runs in 20 overs because of the unbeaten 123-run knock from their opener Ryan Rickelton. Hyderabad needed only 18.4 overs to claim the target and won the match by 6 wickets.
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