Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg added that Mumbai Indians (MI) took the right call by replacing Rohit Sharma as their captain with Hardik Pandya before the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League. He also shared that Sharma should not part ways with the franchise.
Speaking in a video shared on his YouTube channel, he said, “Yes he (Rohit Sharma) should (stay with MI) . I think Hardik Pandya coming in to captain the team is a good thing because Rohit is under pressure captaining all teams for India over the last couple of years. He needed a little bit of space and I think Mumbai did the right thing by getting Hardik Pandya into the lineup.”
“Hardik Pandya doing well for India now hopefully next year that he’s going to be in his second year in a row with Mumbai Indians, the crowd just get a little bit calmer and get behind him because it was quite rude what happened last year. Yes, you’ve got your fans, you follow your particular players, but there are times when changes have to be made and Mumbai needed to make that change both for themselves and also for Rohit Sharma’s mental state.”
However, former Australian spinner Brad Hogg also believes that Team India’s middle order batter Sarfaraz Khan should make a few changes to his technique for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, starting November 22 in Perth.
“There’s one thing that I’m worried about Sarfaraz Khan moving forward if he goes to places like England, South Africa, and if he’s on the tour here to Australia, where there’s extra bounce, he might find himself in a little bit of trouble with the way that he sets himself up before the fast bowler delivers. Those hands are very low,” he added.
“I’d bring Gill in for Rahul now. You’ve got to play Sarfaraz in the next game. He’s made a 150, nearly a match-saving 150 under pressure, you’ve got to keep that momentum going. Rahul has had his opportunities, hasn’t taken those opportunities over the last couple of Tes matches. If Pant is unfit as well, will they play Jurel or will they keep Rahul in there to do the keeping? I’d go with Jurel because you want that backup keeper who’s going to be the future of India moving forward,” he concluded.
