Chris Lynn may not get a game for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020: Sanjay Manjrekar
Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has opined that Chris Lynn is unlikely to get a game for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020. He made this observation considering the poor form the Australian showed in the ongoing CPL.
While speaking on Star Sports, Sanjay Manjrekar and Ashish Nehra shared their thoughts about the concerns Mumbai Indians would have after seeing Chris Lynn's indifferent form in the CPL.
Ashish Nehra was asked about Chris Lynn's frame of mind ahead of the IPL, considering the lean run he has had in the CPL.
The former left-arm seamer responded that Chris Lynn might be able to overturn his form while playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, and acknowledged that good performances in the CPL would have done a world of good for his confidence.
"First thing is that just because his CPL has not gone well, it is not necessary that his IPL will also not be good. But had the CPL been good, his confidence would have been high and he would have got more opportunities."
Ashish Nehra agreed that Chris Lynn's abysmal form would be a matter of concern for the Mumbai Indians, and added that such players could regain their form with just one swashbuckling knock.
"So, Chris Lynn's form will be a matter of concern both for him and for the Mumbai Indians. But he is the sort of player who is just one inning away from regaining form, although he has struggled a lot in the CPL."
Ashish Nehra and Sanjay Manjrekar on the likelihood of Chris Lynn getting a game for the Mumbai Indians
Ashish Nehra observed that Chris Lynn has always had issues when confronted with spin bowling.
"We have seen in the IPL as well that when it comes to spin bowling, he has difficulties. Although he tried in the match against TKR by playing a lot of deliveries, but still could not score a lot of runs."
Nehra, who has played for the Mumbai Indians in the past, believes that Chris Lynn's experience and the positive atmosphere in the Mumbai-based franchise's squad might help him come out of the rough patch.
"But I am sure when you have experience and are associated with a good team, you can come out of any bad phase. So Mumbai Indians will hope that once he comes to the IPL, he regains his form."
Ashish Nehra pointed out that Chris Lynn would not get to play on the flat Wankhede pitch and would instead take guard at the spinner-friendly UAE venues.
"One difficulty he will definitely have is that he will not get the Wankhede wicket but only the three venues where the pitch might assist spin and when the ball turns Chris Lynn has problems, there is no doubt about that."
Sanjay Manjrekar added that Chris Lynn may not even get to play a single game for the Mumbai Indians, considering their strong batting lineup with Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kishan likely to be the preferred top-order options.
"I feel Chris Lynn may not get a game for the Mumbai Indians because they have Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kishan in the team."
Chris Lynn had a horrendous run with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in CPL 2020. The opening batsman aggregated just 138 runs in the nine matches he played, at a poor average of 17.25 apart from a below-par strike rate of 107.81.