Virender Sehwag: MI Should Include Jaydev Unadkat in their starting XI. Unadkat has taken 85 wickets in 86 IPL games, but his economy rate of 8.74 is above average.
The Mumbai Indians have had a poor start to their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. Losing their first three games. Several flaws in the Rohit Sharma-led side have been exposed, and many are not expecting them to go far this season. Meanwhile, MI’s most serious issue has been a shaky bowling attack.
While Jasprit Bumrah is leading the attack, he isn’t getting much help from his teammates. Tymal Mills and Daniel Sams, for example, have not lived up to the hype. While Basil Thampi hit a three-run home run in his first assignment of the season. He went for runs in his next two appearances. Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has urged MI to include Jaydev Unadkat in their playing XI.
Jaydev Unadkat should Include in starting XI, one of only two bowlers in IPL history to take two five-fers, has been warming the benches so far, and Sehwag believes the left-arm pacer’s experience should be used. “Until last year, MI had someone like Nathan Coulter-Nile on the bench if a pacer wasn’t performing well or was injured.” If you look at MI’s bench strength right now, it appears that the management will think twice about including those who aren’t in the XI,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
“Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat, Riley Meredith, and Arshad Khan are among those who have opted out.” Furthermore, players like Sanjay Yadav, Arjun Tendulkar, Hrithik Shokeen, and others aren’t the type of names that can replace Basil Thampi or Daniel Sams,” he added.
Also Visit: Morne Morkel says the Lucknow Super Giants are “the team to beat” in the IPL 2022.
Jaydev Unadkat starting XI, MI’s bowling stocks appear to be depleted: Virender Sehwag
Unadkat has taken 85 wickets in 86 IPL games, but his economy rate of 8.74 is on the high side. The 30-year-old has many weapons in his arsenal, from getting the new ball to swing to delivering slower deliveries in slog overs. However, his proclivity to err has kept him from consistently performing well.
Nonetheless, Sehwag believes Unadkat is MI’s best bet right now. “Of them all, I believe only Unadkat has experience and did well for Pune in one season” (Rising Pune Supergiant). He was sold for around 15-16 crore (INR 11.5 crore in the IPL 2018 auction), but his next season wasn’t all that great. So he’s the only one who appears to be powerful enough to partner Bumrah,” said the former Indian opener.
“Aside from him, there aren’t many others.” MI lacks a bowler capable of bowling three overs in the Powerplay, and they cannot afford to make Bumrah bowl three overs. MI’s bowling lineup appears to be depleted, so their batters will have to work extra hard this time,” he added.
Also Read: T20Is: Matthew Wade remains our first-choice wicketkeeper