Kieron Pollard defended Mumbai Indians’ decision to have Hardik Pandya open the bowling, citing Pandya’s past success with the new ball.
In the recent IPL 2024 match against Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians’ decision to let Hardik Pandya open the bowling raised eyebrows. Despite having seasoned bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Gerald Coetzee, Pandya took the new ball, which did not quite go as planned. Mumbai’s batting coach, Kieron Pollard, defended the move, asserting it was a collective decision rather than Pandya’s alone.
Speaking to NDTV, Pollard emphasized Pandya’s ability to swing the new ball, a skill honed from his past experiences with Gujarat. Although the plan did not yield the desired results, Pollard maintained it was a calculated risk the team agreed upon.
“You have to plan and decide what you want to do as a team. Hardik (Pandya) has also bowled with the new ball for Gujarat over the last couple of years. He swung the new ball and bowled it well, which was nothing new to us. We tried to use the advantage of the new ball swinging along. When I look at the decision made, there is nothing wrong with it, and we move on,” Pollard said.
Additionally, Pandya’s lower batting order placement, with Tim David promoted ahead of him, further stirred debate as Mumbai fell short by six runs. Despite the setback, Pollard remained unfazed, stating the team would learn from the experience and move forward.
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“No decision is made on full autonomy, so we can’t say it is his decision. As a team, we have plans; we talk about setting entry points for batters. The top order batted deep into the game, and we also had two power hitters to go in the back end. Usually, if you look at it over time, Tim (David) has finished games for us, and Hardik has done it over the years,” Pollard concluded.
Last Updated on March 25, 2024
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