'Bowlers should also get enough chances to make a comeback' - Virender Sehwag on MI's strategy in IPL 2022

The Mumbai Indians (MI) have been disappointing with their performances in the ongoing IPL 2022, with no wins under their belt in a total of four appearances. The absence of experienced middle-order batters and the decision by the team’s management has kept MI at bay in terms of securing a victory. The former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag spoke on the team’s performance this season and gave his suggestion for the betterment of the team.

Sehwag reckoned that the MI have to back some of their experienced bowlers like Tymal Mills and Daniel Sams, who were dropped from the Playing XI in the last fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), and played with only two overseas players. He feels the Australian fast bowler, Riley Meredith should be provided an opportunity due to his track record in the T20s.

“They can play [Riley] Meredith, he has the potential. Even Mills has the potential but it’s important to see how long you can stick to a player when he gets smashed,” Sehwag said while speaking to Cricbuzz.

Sehwag further pressed on the fact that the bowlers, like the batters, need to be given enough opportunities to showcase their talent. “If you can give 5-6 games to a batter then you should also give the bowler a chance to make a comeback. You can divide the teams and play a bowler only against some particular teams,” Sehwag added.

Mumbai Indians needed Daniel Sams in the last game: Virender Sehwag

Sehwag reckoned that MI needed the Australian bowling all-rounder Sams in their last fixture against RCB, due to his proven abilities with the bat. Sams was dropped from the side after his ordinary performance of 1/50 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where Pat Cummins smashed 35 runs off his one over.

In three matches, Sams has picked up a single wicket with an economy of 12.64 and has seven runs to his name. Virender Sehwag questioned the addition of Ramandeep Singh, who managed to score six off 12 balls, and felt that Sams could have stitched a partnership with Suryakumar Yadav to post a respectable total for the team.

“If Ramandeep Singh was a batter who could bowl a bit, what was wrong with playing Sams? He will leak runs while bowling but in the last game, MI needed him with the bat. When wickets were falling, he could have come and made a partnership with Suryakumar Yadav and could have taken MI to a respectable total,” Sehwag added.