- For the die-hard cricket connoisseurs and the experts alike, the ongoing Indian Premier League must have provided enough grist and unbridled entertainment of various hues over the last month and a half. The usual thrills, frills, twists, turns, and edge-of-the-seat entertainment offered by the shortest format of the game in the ongoing edition of the IPL must have made the experts smirk. The ease with which scores over 200 are being overhauled in less than 20 overs must have come as a rude awakening to what extent the slam-bang variety has evolved in the last few years. Undoubtedly, the ten-franchise competition had all the necessary ingredients for entertainment. And it hasn’t disappointed the fans either.
PC: Hindustan Times
- However, some of the more established teams crashing out of the tournament indicate the extremely competitive nature of the league. The most shocking performances in the ongoing edition have come from five-time champions Mumbai Indians. Not too long ago, MI was considered a team to beat endowed with such an impregnable outfit built on carefully selected cricketers. Both the Indian and overseas players were selected based not only on their skill sets but also by keeping an eye on their future development with the franchise on a long-term basis. Not for nothing MI was considered the team to beat. However, their campaign appeared to have faltered even before the tournament began.
- The decision to bring in Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans and replace Rohit Sharma from the captaincy appears to have ensured MI crashed out of the tournament without qualifying for the playoffs. Remember, the Hitman Rohit Sharma captained the franchise to five wins in the IPL. We all know how destructive Rohit can be on his day as his batting skills are unmatched when on song. Unfortunately, the move to replace has failed to generate any positives since Hardik Pandya miserably was unable to inspire the team to perform optimally. Of course, the fans of the franchise were not amused with the move of replacing Rohit with Pandya leading to constant booing whenever the latter walked out onto the field.
PC: The Economic Times
- Some of his moves in the field too were questionable and unimpressive yielding disastrous results leading to successive losses. On top of it, Pandya’s performances with the bat and the ball eventually turned out to be mediocre. Since the ongoing IPL has turned out to be a damp squib for the franchise this year failing to even make it to the playoffs, the owners and the think tank must be already chalking out a plan for the next season. There are swirling rumors about Rohit Sharma moving out of MI to another prospective franchise. How true this would turn out to be will be known in the coming months. Note that the next player auction will be next year. Thus, it makes sense for the MI to go for an overhaul by not retaining many players.
- For starters, the franchise must retain Jasprit Bumrah and Surya Kumar Yadav and release all others including Rohit Sharma. The captaincy may be handed over to either of the two. The process of rebuilding must start from here on. Over to the MI thinktank.
