Hardik Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans to their first IPL title in 2022, hasn’t
yet made a significant impact with Mumbai Indians (MI). Since returning to MI
as captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, the usually dominant franchise has
experienced a rollercoaster of results.
In the current Indian Premier League season, MI has lost six out of eight
matches, putting their playoff chances in jeopardy. To stay in contention for
the title, they must win their remaining group games. Following Mumbai
Indians’ defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium, a crucial
question has arisen: «Which current retained players should MI release
ahead of the next IPL mega auction?»
Should MI retain Hardik Pandya as their captain?
This question was discussed on the Cricbuzz talk show with cricket experts
Pommie Mbangwa and Simon Doull. Simon Doull, a former New Zealand cricketer
and now a cricket pundit and commentator, believes that the franchise should
consider releasing Hardik Pandya from the setup before the next season.
Responding to the captaincy question, Doull immediately expressed his
concerns. Mumbai Indians are currently ninth in the 10-team league with only
4 points and a net run rate of -0.784, having won just 2 out of 8 matches.
Doull suggests that if the franchise intends to look beyond Hardik Pandya for
the leadership role, he should be released from the squad, given the team’s
underperformance for consecutive seasons under his captaincy.
Simon Doull recommends 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,» stated Simon
Doull.
If MI decides to retain Hardik Pandya but solely as a pace-bowling
all-rounder, would that be beneficial? Doull acknowledges Pandya’s skills
but suggests that keeping him in a non-leadership role might be seen as
disrespectful by the team management.
Doull voices concerns about Pandya’s role at 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 a backseat, put in the hard yards, and just
be Hardik-the great player-yet again?» he added.
Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, MI posted a strong total of 243 runs in 20
overs, largely due to an unbeaten 123-run innings from opener Ryan
Rickelton. However, Hyderabad chased down the target in just 18.4 overs,
winning the match by 6 wickets.