England World Cup-winning skipper praised Mumbai Indians for making the difficult and gutsy choice to replace legendary Rohit Sharma as captain with renowned all-rounder Hardik Pandya ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).
Mumbai Indians (MI) became the first Indian Premier League (IPL) team to win five titles led by legendary Rohit Sharma. Hardik Pandya has been named captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI), one of the most successful franchises with an eye to the future and he will have a tremendous weight on his shoulders to continue on the side’s heritage.
Hardik Pandya’s appointment as the skipper of Mumbai Indians (MI) didn’t go well with the fans. Still, speaking in Times of India about his appointment, Eoin Morgan thinks differently and believes any franchise would like to have a player of Pandya’s calibre and hailed Mumbai Indians (MI) for being thinking about the future.
“Having the opportunity to bring back Pandya in the side is one that any team would jump at. But also, if you look at the franchise itself, they have had a very forward-thinking, logic-driven and future-proof driven style of strategy for a long time.”
“A decision like this reinforces that the franchise always comes first. They don’t see any short-term planning in anything that they do. They always try and invest as much as they can in players. You probably see this as being a tough decision that they’ve made hoping that the long-term benefits will see MI lifting another championship in the coming years, So, in a way, you’ve to admire the courage that it takes to decide that because not every team would take that decision,” Eoin Morgan said.
Since re-signing Hardik Pandya in a sensational trade deal ahead of the IPL 2024 auction on December 19, the Mumbai Indians have been preparing for a change in leadership. The Mumbai Indians last won the IPL in 2020. The five-time champions missed the playoffs in 2021 and 2022 and were eliminated in the first elimination match in 2023 and would be keen on winning the championship in the next edition of the IPL.
Shahrukh Khan Can Bat In That Sort Of Rinku Singh Model Of Finishing – Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan feels that Tamil Nadu finisher Shahrukh Khan may trigger a bidding war at the auction and believes that he can be Rinku Singh kind of player for his team in the forthcoming IPL. The 28-year-old’s ability to finish innings and attack bowlers from the onset would make him appealing to all clubs.
“He’s obviously been in fine form. He’s taken some wickets recently as well. When he’s in form, he’s so destructive and then players who can bat in that sort of Rinku Singh model of finishing could potentially create a bidding war,” Eoin Morgan added.
Shahrukh Khan appeared in 14 IPL 2023 matches for the Punjab Kings and had a significant impact on the squad. He scored 156 runs with a strike rate of 165.96 made some important cameo appearances for the team and could be a valuable addition to any franchise looking for a lower-middle-order batter.
