MI might want to dump the left-right combo for a couple of games: Sanjay Manjrekar

MI lost to RCB by 54 runs on Sunday and got pushed down to seventh in the points table.

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Sanjay Manjrekar
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Sanjay Manjrekar. (Photo Source: Facebook)

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reckoned that Mumbai Indians should ditch their strategy of the left-right batting combination for the time being to make a comeback in the 2021 IPL. The Rohit Sharma-led team, on Sunday, lost their third game in succession in the UAE leg of the T20 tournament and has now been pushed down to the seventh spot in the points table.

On September 26, the five-time champions lost to the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 54 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Manjrekar said that the oppositions always have tricks in their armoury to counter a left-right combination. For the same, the Challengers used Glenn Maxwell, who picked up two wickets, and Yuzvendra Chahal resorted to wrong ‘urns to lefties.

Later Harshal Patel’s hat-trick blew them away. As per Manjrekar, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan and Krunal Pandya’s lack of form has hurt the Mumbai-based franchise big time. He also called for Kieron Pollard’s promotion in the batting order.

Maybe someone like Pollard could come up, says Sanjay Manjrekar

“It’s a pretty unique scenario where they’ve got their three main players- Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and to an extent Krunal Pandya- looking really off-colour. So, they might want to dump the left-hand right-hand combination,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.

“What happened today is because there was always a left-hander in that middle stage as a part of their left-right combo tactic, allowed Maxwell to bowl four overs. The left-hander was there because there was a leg-spinner operating, waiting to make his life difficult,” he stated.

“But Chahal bowled a googly to get Kishan out. So, the leggie has another delivery that will make it tough for the lefty. I would request MI to send batters as per their self confidence at the moment. No point in sending Krunal, who’s feeling the pressure. Maybe someone like Pollard could come up and MI can abandon the left-right combo at least for a couple of games,” Manjrekar added.

In a bid to stage a comeback in the ongoing IPL, MI are next scheduled to lock horns with Punjab Kings, led by KL Rahul, on Tuesday, September 28 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

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