Former India cricketer turned commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu reckoned why the fans are displeased with Mumbai Indians (MI) after the franchise named Hardik Pandya as their new captain ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. Pandya, who previously captained Gujarat Titans (GT) for two seasons, returned to his former franchise.
Speaking on Star Sports, Sidhu said that former MI captain Rohit Sharma led the franchise to five IPL titles between 2013 and 2023. He also added that Rohit hadn’t done anything wrong to be demoted from his role. He emphasised the disappointment among loyalists with the franchise’s captaincy move.
"Nobody can digest the fact that India's hero, India's captain, is not the captain of our franchise. 'What wrong has he done?' is what fans of the franchise would be thinking," Navjot Sidhu said on Star Sports.
"But what does he have to do? There is nothing that succeeds like success. If he had won these two matches, there wouldn't have been any noise," he further added.
Sidhu highlighted the need for Hardik to get his combination right as he lashed out referencing a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) where Mumbai scored a record 277 but still lost.
“There is nothing that succeeds like success. If Mumbai Indians had won the last two games, everyone would have been silent. I think he (Pandya) should focus on the team combination," Sidhu said. “When you concede 277 runs (against Sunrisers Hyderabad), everyone screams that your bowling is not good enough. How could a team score 277 when it was unprecedented in the tournament? The other game (against Gujarat Titans) was a close one. They were defeated, not disgraced," the 60-year-old said.
He then urged Hardik should follow Dhoni’s approach in making ‘minor adjustments’ to his playing XI. He cited Dhoni’s strategic replacement of injured players with suitable alternatives like Rachin Ravindra.
"Look at what Dhoni does. When Devon Conway, who was the leading run-getter for him last season, got injured, he got in Rachin Ravindra, who is similar and somewhat better. He needs to find that kind of replacement or he will be exposed,” Sidhu concluded.
MI, however, suffered a third-straight defeat in IPL 2024 on April 1 as Rajasthan secured a six-wicket victory to go to the top of the points table while Mumbai found themselves at the bottom end.
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