"I don't think the captaincy is going to have any bearing on his approach" - Tom Moody on Rohit Sharma heading into IPL 2024 for the Mumbai Indians
Tom Moody reckons the Mumbai Indians' decision to relieve Rohit Sharma of captaincy duties will not alter his game in IPL 2024.
MI traded in Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. They subsequently named him as their skipper for the upcoming edition of the prestigious league, replacing Rohit, who led them to five titles.
On the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Moody opined that the Mumbai Indians' move won't make Rohit change his aggressive batting approach.
"We know what Rohit Sharma is capable of doing and how dangerous he is as a player as he has demonstrated with an Indian shirt on his back. I don't think the captaincy is going to have any bearing on his approach. I think he will go out and play his brand of cricket. He is very confident and owns his own game," he elaborated.
The former Australian all-rounder added that Hardik would have a challenge to live up to the franchise's expectations.
"They (MI) expect nothing but excellence, which is what you will expect of any high-performance environment. So Hardik's challenge is managing that expectation and allowing himself and his whole team to be able to play with that freedom, without that pressure sort of filtering into the dressing room," Moody stated.
Hardik led the Titans to the IPL 2022 title. The Ahmedabad-based franchise also reached the final last year, where Ravindra Jadeja's last-ball boundary helped the Chennai Super Kings pip them to the title.
"It's going to be a considerably better side with him in the playing XI" - Tom Moody on Jasprit Bumrah's availability for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024
Tom Moody noted that the Mumbai Indians will be bolstered by Jasprit Bumrah's return.
"Jasprit Bumrah in any side, it's going to be a considerably better side with him in the playing XI than not in the playing XI. So missing a player like Jasprit Bumrah is a massive miss," he said.
"He can not only take wickets in the powerplay but he has got that incredible ability to close games out at the death. So they are really adding to their strength by having such a world-class bowler fit and available," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
Bumrah has picked up 145 wickets at an economy rate of 7.39 in 120 IPL games for the Mumbai Indians. The unconventional seamer accounted for 15 or more dismissals in every season between 2016 and 2022, never conceding an average of more than eight runs per over.