The Mumbai Indians (MI) find themselves in hot water at the beginning of IPL 2024. Three consecutive losses have them languishing at the bottom of the points table, and the captaincy change that saw Rohit Sharma replaced by Hardik Pandya is under intense scrutiny.
Pandya, the new skipper, has faced the brunt of the discontent, even encountering booing from fans, including at their home ground, Wankhede Stadium. This led to former Indian batsman Manoj Tiwary suggesting a drastic solution – Pandya’s potential removal before the next game.
Virender Sehwag, however, urges for patience. Citing instances from MI’s past under Sharma’s leadership, Sehwag highlights the importance of giving Pandya a chance.
“This statement [about removing Pandya]… has been made in haste,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz. “They will be patient with Hardik, too. These are stats. They have been 0-3 down, too. But if this extends beyond that too, it might test the team management’s patience.”
Sehwag suggests a mid-season evaluation based on performance, drawing parallels with other franchises who made captaincy changes mid-tournament.
“Two-three franchises have done that… But it happened midway through the season. I don’t think MI will think about the captaincy switch right now. You can’t change a captain after three games,” he added.
With MI’s performance and captaincy change dominating headlines, the cricketing world awaits their next move. Can Pandya turn things around, or will the pressure force a mid-season switch? Only time will tell.
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