Hardik Pandya has been appointed as the captain of the Ahmedabad franchise, which will make its IPL debut in the upcoming season. Pandya was released by Mumbai Indians, whom he has played for since his debut in 2015 and where he attained all his success in the IPL.
Hardik scored 1476 runs for MI that came at a strike rate of 153 and picked 42 wickets with the ball in hand. He smashed 98 sixes and 97 fours in the IPL and has won four titles. However, Pandya hasn’t bowled in the last two seasons and his batting form has also dipped, making Mumbai retain Suryakumar Yadav over the all-rounder.
Here we look at 5 all-round options for MI to replace Hardik Pandya:
James Neesham
Mumbai Indians bought James Neesham last season. He got to play in only 3 matches, in which he registered a couple of ducks, but snared 5 wickets. Neesham hasn’t been given a consistent run in his three IPL seasons.
Neesham can regularly give 3-4 overs and is a powerful striker towards the end. His late dash of 27 runs off 11 balls helped New Zealand defeat England in the T20 World Cup semi-final.
Mitchell Marsh
Mitchell Marsh has been in superb form in T20 cricket since last year when he was promoted to number 3, rejuvenating his career.
Marsh was Man of the Match in the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand for his scintillating 50-ball 77*and has been in a thunderous form in the BBL 2021/22 for winners Perth Scorchers where he averages 57 at a strike rate of 142, along with 5 wickets in 8 matches.
Jason Holder
Mumbai Indians are likely to bid big for Jason Holder at the auction table. Holder is one of the premier all-rounders in the world across formats.
Using his long stretch, Holder can bat in different gears according to the situation, and is a wicket-taking bowler in the powerplay with the new ball and at the death as well.
Liam Livingstone
Liam Livingstone is regarded as one of the most dangerous hitters of the cricket ball. Although Livingstone had a forgettable IPL season last year for Rajasthan Royals, he was crucial for England in the T20 World Cup, with both bat and ball.
He formed England’s fifth bowler along with Moeen Ali and fared even better than expected with the ball. Livingstone, a game-changer, is an exciting talent and will turn heads in the mega-auction.
Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo was with the Mumbai Indians for the first three seasons before he was bought by CSK. Now, since Bravo has been released, and back in the auction pool, MI have a chance to bag the veteran all-rounder.
While Bravo’s batting has been on the wane, he is still a valuable player with the ball in hand, especially in the death overs. Bravo, perhaps the greatest all-rounder in the IPL, retired from international cricket last year, but still is likely to find some bidders.
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