New Delhi: Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag feels five-time champions Mumbai Indians should retain captain Rohit Sharma, youngster Ishan Kishan and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in their team ahead of the upcoming IPL mega auction.
BCCI has already made it clear that IPL 2022 will be a 10-team contest instead of the current eight-team affair and a mega auction is all set to take place before the start of the season.
Even though the exact rules of the IPL mega auction are yet to be announced, the belief is that each franchise would be allowed to retain up to a maximum of three players. If that is indeed the case, Sehwag is very clear about the three names he feels Mumbai will retain.
According to Sehwag, MI should retain Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Jasprit Bumrah in their team, excluding all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
The former India opener Sehwag believes if Hardik doesn’t bowl, he won’t be able to fetch big money at the auction because of his injury concerns.
“I think MI would retain Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Ishan seems to be in it for the long haul, age is on his side so he can serve you better. If Hardik Pandya doesn’t bowl, I don’t think he would be able to fetch big money at the auction because due to his injury concerns, everyone would think twice,” said Sehwag after Mumbai Indians’s last league match.
“Will he (Hardik) bowl or not? If he can declare himself fit and start bowling then teams can buy him at the auction. The kind of performance Ishan Kishan has dished out (in the last game against SRH), expect many more from him in time to come because (he) is a top-order batsman, unlike Hardik Pandya who bats lower,” he added.
Since undergoing a back surgery, Hardik has bowled sporadically. The 27-year-old all-rounder hasn’t bowled even a single ball for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021.
Hardik not bowling is also a big concern for the Indian cricket team’s balance going into the T20 WC. If the all-rounder doesn’t bowl for India in the upcoming World Cup, then it will create a major imbalance in the playing XI.
While announcing the squad for the T20 World Cup, which begins October 17, chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma had said that Pandya was fully fit and he would be able to bowl his quota of overs at the mega event.