Defending champions Mumbai Indians narrowly lost their opening encounter against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and it had to boil down to the fact that captain Rohit Sharma was handcuffed and despite having Hardik Pandya in the XI, he didn’t had the leverage to bowl him. Despite Rahul Chahar and Trent Boult going for runs, he had to stick with only five options which hindered MI’s chances in the end.
More than a tactical blunder, opening batsman Chris Lynn felt that the defeat was largely due to executional errors. Meanwhile it must be noted that Hardik didn’t look in the best of shapes while fielding and had to settle with two underarm throws from the deep which clearly suggested a niggle in the shoulders.
Hardik bowled consistently during the T20I series against England and only bowled in the final match during the ODI series. Meanwhile MI’s Director of Cricket Operations, Zaheer Khan clarified that not bowling Hardik was part of the workload management.
"Hardik, as a whole package, is always of great value," MI's Director of Cricket operations, Zaheer Khan, said. "It was a workload related thing in the previous game. He bowled nine overs in the England series. In consultation with the physio, we had to take that approach. There was a little bit of a shoulder concern but it is not worrisome. You will see him bowl very soon. The timeline you will have to ask the physio. In terms of Hardik the bowler coming in this tournament, we are confident that he will be chipping in with the ball in his hand as well."
Zaheer also added the fact that Rohit has some options up his repertoire. Kieron Pollard will be used as an all-rounder as the tournament progresses and Hardik will also bowl whenever he is available and feels that he can chip in.
"Pollard is our sixth bowling option," he mentioned. "He is consistent, he is an experienced campaigner.
"Whenever Hardik is available, he will start bowling, he will be our bowling option as well. In that department, we are not very concerned. You have to just adapt and adjust. This year's format is a different format. So from that point of view, we need to have that adaptability and flexibility around the squad as well, with not playing in your home grounds, which is what we accept and plan accordingly for the season ahead."
Quinton de Kock who missed the opening encounter as he was in quarantine will be back for the next encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders. They will definitely have a selection headache especially given the fact that Lynn looked in good touch during the opening encounter and feel short of a well-deserved half-century by just a solitary run.
"We will take the decision closer to the game," Zaheer said. "Lynn is a pro. You've seen his press conference and his dressing room chat as well. He is a good character to have around the dressing room, joking about everything. He was jokingly saying that "am I going to get the next game or no? As professional athletes you have to be prepared, you have to align yourself with how the team management is thinking. Communication is going to be the key. So on the communication part, we are going to be clear. When you're part of a good team, a champion side, you have to wait for your opportunities and that's something that the whole group is aware of.
"We are very excited with Marco as well. When you see a youngster like Marco going out there and making an impact. We have all been there, in our first games, it is a big occasion. Now he has managed to relax because he made a good comeback in that game."
MI have started off their IPL 14 campaign in Chennai against the RCB. They will play four more matches here before shifting their base to Delhi for the next four games.