“They miscalculated” - Rajkumar Sharma feels Mumbai Indians made a big blunder by not retaining experienced pacer

Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma believes that Mumbai Indians (MI) made a major miscalculation, which resulted in Trent Boult not being part of the squad for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season.

Mumbai Indians released the Kiwi pacer ahead of the auction and failed to buy him back. The left-arm seamer was purchased by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for ₹8 crore as Mumbai pulled out of the bidding race.

Speaking about MI’s move to not buy back Boult, Sharma said on the Khelneeti podcast:

“MI will miss Trent Boult for sure and they miscalculated. Boult and Jasprit Bumrah have won them so many games. I really don’t know how they let him go.”

While Mumbai failed to acquire the services of the experienced Kiwi, they purchased three other left-arm seamers at the auction - Daniel Sams, Jaydev Unadkat and Tymal Mills.

According to Sharma, these picks indicate that MI were trying to make up for Boult’s loss. He added:

“To make up for Boult’s absence, they went for Unadkat, who has done well for Saurashtra recently. He has proved to be expensive, but because of his experience, there are always hopes that he can deliver. The two other left-armers have been picked as backup it seems.”

Boult claimed 25 wickets in 15 games when Mumbai lifted the title in 2020. He was Player of the Final for his figures of 3 for 30 against Delhi Capitals (DC). Last season, he picked up 13 wickets in 14 games.

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“Kieron Pollard will have a big role to play” - Rajkumar Sharma on Mumbai Indians’ weak middle order

With Pandya brothers Hardik and Krunal no longer part of the Mumbai Indians setup, the franchise's middle order looks rather weak on paper.

Stating that the top four will have to do the bulk of the scoring, Sharma opined that Kieron Pollard will have to assume greater responsibility in the middle order. He said:

“In T20 cricket, you don’t need more than 4-5 batters. Then you can have all-rounders. If your top 4-5 batters can’t play 20 overs, then what is the point? But yes, MI are weak in the all-rounders’ department this time and Kieron Pollard will have a big role to play as he is the only experienced impact player in the middle-order."

While Hardik has moved to Gujarat Titans and will captain the franchise, Krunal was picked up by the Lucknow Super Giants for ₹8.25 crore.