Veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Mumbai Indians (MI) going all-out to trade in star all-rounder Hardik Pandya shows how much they want to secure their sixth Indian Premier League (IPL) title at all costs as well. However, Pandya had a long-standing association with Mumbai, before parting ways with them to join the Gujarat Titans (GT) before the 2022 edition as well. And, he led the Gujarat-based side to a title in their maiden season in IPL 2022, which was followed by a runner-up finish the next season as well.
Ahead of IPL 2024, Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai in an all-cash deal (₹15 crore) and they also named him their new captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. Opening up on this, Ashwin said in his latest YouTube video, “The Hardik Pandya ‘buy’ shows how hungry they are for #6. Many people might have opinions about why it is right or wrong, or they might have taken it too easy. I am not going into that. This is a pride project. They play to win. And they’ve gone to that extent to buy a player. And you can say so many things, but when a team pulls off such a buy, you tend to think more.”
“Think about it: if MI got Rashid Khan from GT instead of Pandya, It is unthinkable, right? In the EPL or the rest of European football, it happens like this. If this also goes like that, some teams will have the financial strain to match up to those teams, and equality is a question mark. But nevertheless, as MI has done this, it looks pretty clear that they are going for #6,” Ashwin further added.
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Meanwhile, the news of Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma as MI captain didn’t go down well with fans considering the great record Rohit has as MI captain. He led the team to five IPL titles as well. However, Mumbai head coach Mark Boucher claimed that the decision was taken keeping the team’s transitional phase keeping in mind. Ravichandran Ashwin also opened up about Hardik Pandya’s performances
as a player in the IPL, highlighting his all-round abilities.
“He has always been a combination player, giving a few overs and scoring runs when required,” Ashwin continued. “In GT, a lot of the team’s success came from his transition as a player who plays the middle overs with intent and leaves the finishing to (Rahul) Tewatia and Rashid Khan,” he stated.
On the other hand, Ravichandran Ashwin believes that right-arm pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar could play a key role in the Royal Challengers
Bengaluru (RCB) lineup for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) as well. However, Vijaykumar did well in domestic cricket and the Karnataka Premier League in the recent past as well.
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“I’m very interested in Vyshak Vijayakumar. Recently, I went to watch the Ranji Trophy match between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The wicket was flat but had a had a good bounce, like the Chepauk red soil wicket. Vyshak Vijayakumar ran in all four days. The hot attitude was outstanding. I was also following KPL. His game for Gulbarga Mystics was extraordinary; he led from the front. So a person like Vyshak Vijayakumar, even though there is a bit of inexperience, (can be handy).” he added.
“Tom Curran is a great utility cricketer. Reece Topley can also bowl with a new ball. Tom Curran is also more of a lower-order batsman. I’ve seen Tom Curran in Delhi. He bowls well and has some variety, but he has also improved his batting a lot. You see, The Hundred Games and all, he finished games really well. He has a good power game. I would say he is a utility number 8 option,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.
