Mumbai Indians need Hardik Pandya 2.0 to learn from the original at IPL 2024

Hardik Pandya’s 33-ball 39 against the Delhi Capitals wouldn’t have won him new admirers at the Wankhede stadium on Sunday. But luckily for him, so explosive were Romario Shepherd and Tim David in the slog overs that his knock didn’t matter in the end.

But in being able to post 234 on the runs scale, the new Mumbai Indians skipper would have recognized what approach they should take in the future. He would also reflect on MI’s middle overs slowdown which saw them crawl to 138/4 after 15 overs from 75/0 in the powerplay.

MI’s strength lies in their batting. With the arrival of Suryakumar Yadav and the distinct advantage they enjoy with many capped India batting heavyweights in the lineup, on most good pitches, MI are best served attacking through the middle-overs. It’s a tactic being utilised successfully by Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings.

Steering the wheel for MI in the middle overs against DC was captain Hardik. He may have walked out at No 4 ahead of Tilak Varma keeping a left-right batting combination in mind, but would he now go back to being the finisher he once was for MI? Or will we see a lot more of him at No 4 and 5, with David and Shepherd trusted to use their power to their advantage in the final overs? If so, what tempo will he prefer to bat at?

When the season began, Hardik had promised that his MI homecoming would mark the return of Pandya – the finisher. “I will be down there, hitting as many runs as possible...enjoy the position that I have always loved,” he had said.

He began the season, batting at No 7. And, straightaway had the opportunity to be a hero. In the opening match at Ahmedabad, he was up against Gujarat Titans’ Umesh Yadav and a hostile crowd, with 19 runs to get in the final over. It is what peak Hardik Pandya would achieve, often. He began with a six off the back-foot, a boundary through covers followed before he holed out. It wasn’t to be, but the finisher’s role remains the most volatile in the T20 game.

Does Hardik trust himself with the finisher’s role as he once used to? Swatting spinners away and using the depth of the crease against pace was his calling card. He taught himself to deal with the short ball better, not just in protecting his wicket but to neutralise the bouncer with attacking strokes. The best runs of his IPL career have come at No 6 – 660 runs, SR 181. He has scored an almost equal amount of runs while batting at No 4 - 666 runs, but at a much lower SR of 136.

In his last couple of years at GT, Hardik spent a lot more time in the middle overs – 15 balls per innings – compared to his glory years in MI (2017-21) - 8 balls per innings. His SR went up marginally from 129 to 136. But his death overs workload came down. And so did the SR – 155 from 176.

GT’s team composition forced a tweak from Hardik. Besides, it could also be a classic case of captainship being equated to responsibility, inadvertently forcing a risk-free approach. Rarely does it result in maximisation of resources in T20 cricket.

With the Impact player empowering strong batting teams further, MI would probably want Hardik 2.0 to be a lot like the original Hardik, and not the anchor he was for GT. Even the Indian team would want the same from him at the T20 World Cup in June.

The national selectors would like Hardik to polish his finishing skills in the IPL. For India don’t have a David or Shepherd for finishing duties. They have Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube to pick from. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja present their case with their respective core competence. But who among them is the best prospect to chase down impossible targets or lift a par total to one that takes it beyond the opposition?

India has an abundance of players who can bat as Hardik did for GT. However, what they don’t have are enough specialist finishers or power-hitters. When Hardik begins to take up that role again, combined with his bowling skills, few would compare.

It’s down to how soon he pads up to keep the promise he made before IPL 2024 - ‘be the all-rounder who will try to finish as many games as possible’.