IPL 2021: PBKS vs MI – Experts slam Rohit for demoting Suryakumar, batsman responds

The defending champions and five-time trophy-lifters Mumbai Indians have not had an ideal start to their 2021 IPL journey. Of the five matches they have played so far, three have reaped losses, while the two victories have largely come down to the bowling genius of Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah.

Perhaps, had it not been for them, MI could well have been waiting to open their account after the conclusion of the Chennai leg in this new caravan-format IPL. They shift their base now to Delhi, where the conditions will not be too different than what they got in Chennai. Despite that, a change in venue is where their hopes of changing the fortunes would lie.

Their latest loss against Punjab Kings has left many questions to be answered. Wins and losses are a part of cricket, but how a team loses calls for scrutiny. And that Rohit Sharma has attracted in plenty after he made some questionable decisions during his side’s 9-wicket beating at Chepauk.

Having lost Quinton de Kock early, MI sent Ishan Kishan ahead of Suryakumar Yadav. Not only has Yadav been in some fluent form of late, but Kishan’s struggle has been for everyone to see thus far. His 17-ball 6 had a major role in Mumbai getting to one of their lowest powerplay scores ever (21).

They eventually finished 131/6, which turned out to be an easy chase for the opponents, who broke their streak of losses and will breathe slightly easy. Who would not breathe as easily would be MI for sure, who now have five days to iron out their trouble and concerns before they start the second leg.

Would you ask Virender Sehwag not to open?: Ajay Jadeja

Raising questions over Mumbai Indians’ tactics, Virender Sehwag said “The kind of form Suryakumar was in, he hit a fifty earlier, perhaps he could have taken more advantage of the powerplay. Even he could’ve gotten out early but he had better chances.”

“You are sending someone who hasn’t scored runs in 4 matches [Ishan Kishan] with the hope that he will get you runs but you are demoting someone who has scored 2-3 out of your last 4 games [Suryakumar Yadav]. When 2-3 wickets fall quickly then there is pressure on that in-form player too,” said Sehwag.

“It would have been better had they sent Suryakumar early in the powerplay. He could have given the necessary momentum to the innings. The only good thing for MI was that Rohit and Suryakumar batted till the 15-16th over. They thought their big-hitters would play fearless cricket in the backend of the innings but that didn’t happen,” he added.

Agreeing strongly with his counterpart, Ajay Jadeja said that Yadav should have been sent at his regular position.

“We were saying that MI are not playing well but they were scoring 150 at least but today they played well but got only 130. This was beyond me. You can play poorly, get out early but they came out today with their shutters closed, which is not their style of batting. If we lose 2-3 early wickets in the powerplay then it’s understandable but not in this case.”

“Then you don’t send your in-form player Suryakumar Yadav at 3. Tell me, would you ask Virender Sehwag not to open and bat down the order?” he concluded.

Surya responds

In the post-match press conference, Suryakumar expectedly faced a question regarding Kishan’s promotion ahead of him and he cleared that it was done to keep the left-right combination in the middle. Surya also stated he was completely fine with the move as both the batsmen play similar roles in the team.

“Ishan’s promotion was completely management’s call and we decided collectively that if a left-hander gets out then a left-hander walks in. He and I have been playing a similar role in the past few years. So, I was completely okay with it. We both decided we’ll do the same way what everyone decides and we were clear in our plans very much,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mumbai’s caravan in Chennai has finally come to an end as they will now move to Delhi for the second leg of their league games. They face Rajasthan in their next match on April 29 after a long, six-day break.