Though Mumbai Indians (MI) are traditionally slow starters in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, in the 2022 season, things have gone out of their hands, with the franchsie losing the first 5 games of the season. Though MI have given Fabian Allen a debut in the match against Lucknow Super Giants, former India skipper Mohammed Azharuddin feels youngster Arjun Tendulkar should be tried as well.
Be it Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard or most of the other players in the team, MI haven’t been able to see their star players put on the sort of show that they have been over the years for the franchise. Suryakumar Yadav is arguably the only player who has impressed fans with his performances while a number of others are striving to hit peak form.
Many also feel MI have not had their fair share of luck this season. Azharuddin feels Arjun could bring the sort of luck for Mumbai that they have been missing this season. The fact that MI haven’t given enough opportunities to their INR 8.25 crore buy Tim David also left Azharuddin baffling.
“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. 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,” said Azharuddin on Sky247.net presents ‘Not Just Cricket Show’ on CricTracker.
As far as the group is concerned, Azharuddin feels Mumbai don’t have another bowler to help marquee pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Though MI had bought Jofra Archer from the IPL 2022 mega auction, he is not fit enough for feature for the franchise this season.
“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,” Azharuddin asserted.
