Mumbai Indians‘ decision to use their former captain Rohit Sharma as an impact sub did not sit well with ex-India batting coach Sanjay Bangar. He felt MI captain Hardik Pandya needed the experienced campaigner, who led the team to five IPL titles and is a T20 World Cup-winning skipper, in the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Monday at the Wankhede, where the hosts lost by 12 runs. But Bangar was left at loggerheads with former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu, who felt Hardik should be left alone.
Amid his continued meagre returns with the bat in IPL, Rohit has been used as an impact sub twice this season, the first being in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders at home last week. Bangar, speaking to ESPNCricinfo, reckoned there was a better way of using the 37-year-old in the MI setup and stressed the need for the presence of his experience on the field to guide Hardik through the difficult phases in a game. But Rayudu disagreed with the notion and felt a captain should be left alone and allowed to make his own decisions. This sparked a heated debate between the two, leading to Bangar taking a sly dig at Rayudu, implying that he would not understand the situation as he has never led an IPL team. Here is how the conversation went…
Bangar: I want to ask you one question, Rayudu. I think Rohit’s absence on the field is hurting from a leadership point of view. He could probably give Hardik the right input as well.
Rayudu: I don’t think Hardik needs input. A captain needs to be left alone. It is his team, his input, and you cannot have 10 people in his ears like last year. Rohit is India’s captain, and nobody wants to be in his ears when he is captaining. You should follow the same approach with Hardik here.
Bangar: I…
Rayudu: (interrupts) No captain has to be left alone, Sanjay bhai. Sorry.
Bangar: But you look, when you get an impact sub in, you are looking at specialists. And if I have to look at the other options, MI have Naman Dhir and Tilak, who don’t bowl. So, in the T20 setup, having that kind of experience in the field is of immense value. For you, it was different because you never led an IPL team. But here is a guy who has led the team to multiple IPL titles.
Rayudu: But he is not the captain anymore. It is Hardik’s team. Let’s not get into that debate. Rohit is a great leader; we all acknowledge that, but it is Hardik’s team, and he will do whatever he sees fit. Rohit’s input can always come from a substitute fielder. He does not have to be on the field for that.
Bangar: The message does not always come from the former captain. It comes from the management.
At this point, the anchor quickly reminded the two that India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav also remains on the field to advise Hardik and that decisions about the playing XI are mostly collective calls, with the entire team management involved. He also compared the situation to RCB, saying that even as Rajat Patidar is the new captain, Virat Kohli, who ticks the box as a gun fielder, especially at the boundary, unlike Rohit, will always be on the field. But the heated debate continued…
Bangar: He knows the MI setup better.
Rayudu: It is not about that. Kohli used to be left alone. Dhoni was not at his ears all the time. Same for Rohit. Then why should Hardik have 10 people at his ears?
Bangar: Who are these 10 people?
Rayudu: You are saying Rohit, Suryakumar and then the coaches in the dugout.
Jayawardene backs Rohit to come good
MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene admitted batting in the powerplay has been a major concern for the team, where Rohit has been unable to fire.
“Rather than (taking) names, powerplay is a concern for us with the ball and the bat. (In) the last few games we were leaking too many runs with the ball in the powerplay, (and) we’re not getting the starts and losing wickets, especially in Wankhede (Stadium),” he said.
However, he backed the 37-year-old , who has had scores of 0, 8, 13 and 17 so far, to fight his way through the challenges, especially against left-arm pace. Rohit has been dismissed twice by the variety, including the match against RCB where Yash Dayal got his wicket.
“For right-handed batsmen, (facing) left-arm (pace bowling) is a natural thing. It’s been there for many years. I can remember Wasim Akram doing the same thing for many years, it’s just a natural angle and then creating that space,” he said.
“I’m sure Ro (Rohit) has been working on it, he’s been practicing hard and he’s a very experienced player. I’m sure that’s not the thing (that Rohit struggles against left-arm pace), he was trying to give us a good start and he played some really good shots.
“Yash bowled a good ball, it was late swing and fuller, got through Ro’s defence. When you have played the game for that long, you need to sometimes give credit to the bowlers as well. I wouldn’t read into that too much but it’s something that I’m sure that Ro will work hard on it,” he added.
