Mumbai Indians’ (MI) dream for their 6th IPL title has been crushed. As soon as they got defeated by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final over of the match on May 10 night, MI’s dream for the play-offs was demolished. As the season has ended in a disappointing note, the franchise is asked to appoint Jasprit Bumrah as their captain.
MI got their last Indian Premier League title, which was their 5th, in 2020. Since then, they have remained trophy-less. To revive the glory days, the management appointed Hardik Pandya as the leader, but that has not worked so far.
Sanjay Manjrekar asks MI to appoint Jasprit Bumrah as their captain
Former Team India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has some suggestions for the Mumbai Indians. He asks the franchise to immediately sack Hardik Pandya from the leadership role. According to Manjrekar, Jasprit Bumrah could do a lot better as a captain than Pandya.
Why Jasprit Bumrah could be the better leader for MI? In explanation, the former international cricketer said that Bumrah has good vision on the ground. Manjrekar appreciates the seamers’ match-reading and anticipation skills.
“I’d like to see Bumrah captain India, because I don’t think anyone sees the game as well as he does. What he does with his bowling is not just about the action; it’s also about anticipation, reading the batter, reading the situation, and understanding pitches. I’m just a little disappointed that he doesn’t seem interested in being captain in England. He didn’t captain when Shubman Gill was made captain. But hopefully, at least in the Indian Premier League, he should get that shot,” he said in a conversation with Sportstar.
Sanjay points out a wrong move made by the Mumbai Indians
Manjrekar sensed that bringing in Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans was a wrong move made by MI. In the Gujarat Titans, where Hardik Pandya led the team for the maiden IPL title, former Team India seamer Ashish Nehra was with him. Nehra is the head coach of the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL, appointed in January 2022. 2022 was the debut season for the franchise, and they became champions that season.
“You actually caught what I was hinting at, because I think they might have to look beyond Hardik Pandya. Yeah, because that move certainly hasn’t worked. It’s not fair to Hardik as well. It’s like a package deal. You know, if Hardik was going to come to Mumbai, then they should have gotten Ashish Nehra as well with him. But Ashish won’t be with him,” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
Can Jasprit Bumrah handle extra pressure?
To make his assessment stronger, the 60-year-old further claimed that leading the Mumbai Indians will not be an extra burden for Bumrah as he captained Team India in the Tests.
“I’d really like to see Jasprit Bumrah being given a shot because that is not as much of a burden on him as being a Test captain, where he has to stay fit and ready for every Test match,” he added.
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