Five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians (MI) have had an abysmal 2022 season. They are yet to register their first win of the season as they languish at the bottom of the points table after losing their sixth straight match, their latest coming against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Mumbai on Saturday (April 16).
Former India cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin believes that the MI management should give India legend Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun Tendulkar a chance because the Tendulkar name might give the team some "good luck."
“You have to try some new players, like you can give a chance to Arjun as well, who has been doing well, maybe Tendulkar name on the field can bring them good luck," Azharuddin said on Sky247.net presents ‘Not Just Cricket Show’ on CricTracker.
Azharuddin questioned the decision to sign Tim David at the IPL mega auction as he is not playing regularly for the team. MI shelled out Rs 8.25 crores for the Singaporean cricketer, but he has only featured in two matches, scoring just 13 runs for his team. The 59-year-old also pointed out that David has a strike rate of 153.42 in the Big Bash League (BBL), and is a terrific player. He felt it is an injustice to some players if they are warming the benches throughout the season.
"If you have picked David for such a high price, and if he is not playing, there is no use of him being in the squad. If you have players, you just can’t make them sit along, that will be injustice to the player as well. If the things are not happening, they can try different players, as most of the teams have not played them, and the team can succeed,” Azharuddin commented.
Signing talented batters at the auction affected their bowling department, according to Azharuddin. He felt that it is not right for the team to put too much pressure on the pacer Jasprit Bumrah, and also added that Bumrah needs to bowl an opening over for MI to have a greater chance of picking wickets in the powerplay overs.
“They have packed their batting, but have left a void in the bowling unit. They are over-dependent on Bumrah, but you can not put so much pressure on him, he is also a human. Sometimes he can go for runs as well. They can try him in the 1st over itself, because if he comes in the 2nd or 3rd over, the batters have settled down a bit and can go for maybe 20 off two overs, and it can have a big impact,” he said.
