Hardik Pandya was the toast of the nation a couple of months ago for his heroics against Bangladesh in World T20 and everybody was expecting him to play an important role for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. But his form in the IPL has been so bad that Mumbai Indians’ team management decided to drop him from the playing XI when they played Royal Challengers Bangalore a couple of nights ago.
Cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle has said that Pandya should be hurt by his exclusion from the side. Mumbai Indians defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore to register their sixth win in eleven matches. Mumbai will play a struggling Kings XI Punjab on May 13 and would look to consolidate their place in the points table.
Bhogle wrote in his column for Times of India that he expects Pandya to make a comeback to the team sooner than later. He wrote, “For all the fluctuations in their results, MI have actually been remarkably stable in their line-up. The three quick bowlers have complemented each other well given that when you bowl the difficult overs, one could have a bad day and young Krunal Pandya has been one of the revelations of the tournament.”
“I expect his brother Hardik to come back at some point because he has too many things going for him to stay away for too long. Maybe he’s been given time to feel the pain of being left out because it hurts like few things hurt,” Bhogle added.
Talking about Mumbai’s current situation he wrote that the defending champions are well aware of the situation and they know what it takes to come through this tough phase.
He wrote, “The Mumbai Indians are in familiar territory. The fans are on the edge and the team is readying itself for its customary charge to the finish line. I don’t know why it has to be so, but it makes following them extremely captivating.”
He continued, “They need to win two out of three, but have a good game coming up. It is never easy to take the field when you are aware that your chances of qualification are gone and so Mumbai Indians will be hoping they take on, maybe, a dispirited Kings XI.”
Bhogle highlighted that Mumbai Indians (MI) have the worst Net Run Rate (NRR) among all teams, and this is something which they should address.
“Mumbai’s win over RCB was fashioned, as is happening so often in the tournament, by the bowlers and it meant that the target wasn’t threatening. Better still, they got there without a powerful performance from Rohit Sharma who has been their talisman.”
“They needed Buttler and Pollard to finish a game the way they did because those two in form are frightening. Against Kings XI though, they need more than just a win because their result against the Sunrisers will haunt them for a while. Of the teams in contention, MI have the poorest net run rate and while it is something they hope won’t come into question, they have to address it,” he explained.
However, the ace commentator warned Mumbai that KXIP Punjab has nothing to loose and so they can play fearless cricket which can make the matter worse for Mumbai.
“Much will depend though on how Kings XI face their current situation. Four is a lot of games to play when you know you can’t qualify and they can either just turn up or play spoilers. Watch their body language closely for that will be a giveaway,” he concluded.