“Only one of Unadkat and Thampi should play” - Aakash Chopra urges MI to bring in Riley Meredith to strengthen bowling in IPL 2022

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra reckons that the Mumbai Indians (MI) are making the wrong move by including both Jaydev Unadkat and Basil Thampi in the playing XI for IPL 2022 matches. According to the cricketer-turned-analyst, Mumbai should turn to Australian pacer Riley Meredith to strengthen their bowling.

Thampi has featured in all of Mumbai’s five IPL matches so far, claiming five wickets at an economy rate of 9.50. Left-arm seamer Unadkat, meanwhile, has played the last two games and has picked up one wicket each in both the matches. Meredith, on the other hand, is yet to play this season.

Having lost five games out of five, Mumbai will be desperate to break their losing streak when they take on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday. Speaking ahead of the match, Chopra shared his views on Mumbai’s bowling and said:

“The bowling continues to look weak. There is Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat and Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah is quality. Only one of Unadkat and Thampi should play. They can bring in Meredith instead. Tymal Mills is playing as they do not have too many options. And why aren’t you trying Mayank Markande? The balance is completely off.”

In their last match, Mumbai conceded 198 against Punjab, bowling first. Thampi and Unadkat conceded 47 and 44 runs, respectively, even as Jasprit Bumrah stood out again with figures of one for 28.

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“You are sending in two youngsters ahead of Surya” – Aakash Chopra urges MI to rethink batting order

Sharing his views on Mumbai’s batting, Chopra admitted that the two young guns, Dewald Brevis and Tilak Varma, have made a very good impression.

He, however, pointed out that there is too much pressure on the youngsters since the openers aren’t firing. The former cricketer stated:

“Dewald Brevis and Tilak Varma are important components of the team, but they have been given crucial No.3 and No.4 slots while the openers are struggling, which is another big concern. You are sending in two youngsters ahead of Surya, who then comes in and doesn’t get enough deliveries to bat. If MI feel that Surya is best at No.5, then they are playing the wrong XI.”

Concluding his thoughts on Mumbai’s strategies for the ongoing IPL season, Chopra urged the think tank to show a bit more flexibility with regards to team selection. He elaborated:

“Tim David has only played two matches after being purchased for ₹8.25 crore. They have not even looked at Riley Meredith while Daniel Sams has been forgotten after two games. Tymal Mills is playing, but apart from Murugan Ashwin, they have Mayank Markande as well.”

Many questions are being raised over Mumbai’s auction strategy. According to some critics, the franchise's decision to spend ₹15.25 crore on Ishan Kishan and purchase Jofra Archer (who is unavailable for IPL 2022) for ₹8 crore is coming back to haunt them.