As if Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya’s frustrations from the 2024 Indian Premier League weren’t enough. The all-rounder suffered a blow even before clubs could begin planning for the upcoming campaign. Hardik’s punishment for keeping a slow over rate in MI’s final game of the season against the Lucknow Super Giants meant that, BCCI stated late on Friday night, he would not be eligible to participate in the opening game of the next season.

“Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai Indians captain, has been fined after his team maintained a slow over rate during their TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on May 17,” the BCCI stated.

Since MI doesn’t have any more games this season, the suspension will start at the first game of the following one. Even if MI chooses to continue using Hardik as their permanent captain, they will need to play a fresh captain for their tournament debut the following year.

After Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant, Hardik became the second player this year to get a suspension for an overrate offence. Similar to Pant, Hardik received a one-match suspension for committing his third overrate infraction of the season. The MI players, including the Impact Player versus LSG, were fined ₹12 Lakh, or 50% of their respective match costs, and the MI captain was also fined ₹30 lakh.

“Pandya was fined INR 30 lakhs and prohibited from playing in the team’s next game since it was his team’s third infringement of the season in relation to minimum over rate violations under the IPL’s Code of Conduct. The Impact Player and the other members of the Playing XI were each fined INR 12 lakhs or half of their respective match costs, whichever was lower, according to the BCCI.

MI’s disappointing season with Pandya

As captain and a player for MI this season, Pandya had an unmemorable campaign. In 14 matches, he scored a pitiful average of 18 runs, totaling only 218 runs. Despite taking 11 wickets, his economy rate of 10.75 was quite concerning. As a captain, he was unable to motivate the team, and as a result, the five-time winners finished bottom in the standings with only four victories in 14 games.

With great enthusiasm, Pandya returned to the MI lineup, although the club won just four of his fourteen games as captain.”It was really challenging. In the end, our poor cricketing performance cost us the entire season,” Pandya remarked following MI’s 18-run defeat to the Lucknow Super Giants.

It’s a world of professionals. We must constantly present ourselves in the best possible light. However, collectively, we were unable to play intelligent or high-caliber cricket.”

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With the ninth T20 World Cup just a few days away, skipper Rohit Sharma and teammate Rahul Dravid’s final chance to win the coveted ICC trophy are fast approaching for the Indian cricket team. When his contract ends at the end of the tournament, coach Dravid will not be pursuing an extension with the squad, so although Rohit won the T20 World Cup in its inaugural edition 17 years ago, for him it’s an if not now, then never scenario.

Though opinions may differ, Rohit, Dravid, and Ajit Agarkar, the head of selectors for the BCCI, think that this is the greatest team India could have put together of 15 players for the World Cup. Along with Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and Virat Kohli, Rohit is back. Yashasvi Jaiswal is the thrilling opener, while Sanju Samson, along with Rishabh Pant, has finally been selected as one of the wicketkeepers, paying his dues. Hardik Pandya is the team’s designated vice-captain, despite Shivam Dube’s rapid rise to prominence at the cost of Rinku Singh, who has been a disaster with the bat and the ball as well as the Mumbai Indians captain. With a group of their calibre, you would support them to win every manner, correct? Correct?

Well, the combined efforts of the Indians might not be sufficient if former Australia Test captain Tim Paine is to be believed. According to Paine, Kohli needs to perform better than everyone else if India is to have a chance in the World Cup. In fact, according to Paine, who discussed this theory with fellow Australians Aaron Finch and Michael Clarke on the “Around the Wicket” podcast, the likelihood that India will win the World Cup depends directly on Kohli having a fantastic campaign and vice versa.

“Until Virat Kohli has a really strong World Cup, something akin to Glenn Maxwell’s form, I cannot see India winning the World Cup.” Paine compared Kohli to Maxwell and said, “I know he hasn’t been playing well lately, but I can’t see Australia winning the World Cup unless Maxwell has a blinder.”

Is Tim Paine’s comparison accurate?

But the modern incarnations of Kohli and Maxwell are as different as chalk and cheese. While Maxwell has performed incredibly well, Kohli has lit up the IPL 2024 with over 500 runs, including a century to hold the Orange Cap. IPL 2024 has been Maxwell’s lowest season with just 36 runs from 8 matches at a pitiful average of 5.14. The only things keeping RCB in the running for the Playoffs are Rajat Patidar and Kohli, and their matchup against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday is a knockout.

Returning to Paine, Kohli appears to be back to his best. In the 2022 T20 World Cup, he scored the most runs (296 from six matches at an average of 98.66) and in the ODI World Cup in India last year (765 from 11 games at an average of 95.62), he was the top run scorer in both competitions. However, as past events have shown, leading the team in runs scored alone is insufficient to win the championship. This might be Kohli’s final T20 World Cup at age 35 because he will be 37 in the next tournament. Although he hasn’t yet won a T20 World Cup, Kohli will like to repeat his RCB performance for the Men in Blue on June 5, when India kicks off their campaign against Ireland.

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Perhaps he has moved on from the IPL. It’s possible that he is already preparing for the T20 World Cup, which begins in two weeks. Perhaps the events of the past few months, including the controversial change in leadership within his organisation, are having an impact. Regardless matter the cause, Rohit Sharma’s performance has drastically declined over the past 25 days, raising some eyebrows as the major event approaches.

The skipper of India has amassed 349 runs in 13 innings at an average of 29.08 and a strike rate of 145.41, which doesn’t seem bad. He hasn’t scored as many runs in a single event since 2021, and this season’s scoring pace is the quickest since the 2008 season, when he scored 147.98 runs per 100 balls faced. However, statistics only provide us only half the story, as they always do.

Rohit had an amazing first month of performance, but his returns have been dreadfully low after then. 297 runs in his first seven innings have been followed by a paltry 52 in his last six, in a season of radically different halves. A torturous, laborious, and unedifying 24-ball stay in the Eden Gardens on Saturday resulted in four single-digit scores, with a maximum of 19, attesting to unwavering difficulties. In addition to his lack of runs, Rohit hasn’t seemed to be “in the mood,” if you will, which has resulted in his clumsy attempt to force the bowler to make a mistake early in the innings.

Because of Rohit’s sharp decline in form and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s ongoing struggles (almost half of his 348 runs have come in two innings alone), two of India’s three possible openers—Virat Kohli being the third—go into the World Cup with little confidence or momentum. In the spirit of balance, Jaiswal will almost certainly warm the bench. Rohit and Virat Kohli, who has been outstanding throughout the campaign and is the clear front-runner for the Orange Cap, will start for India. But Rohit has to get over this slow start and get going when India kick off their World Cup campaign, both for the sake of the team and maybe more significantly for his personal sake. on June 5 in New York vs Ireland.

The captain’s impact on India’s incredible run in the 50-over home World Cup in October and November is still too recent to be thoroughly discussed. It’s enough to say that his fast pace forced opponents to defend, giving players like Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (before his injury), and Ravindra Jadeja the freedom to play with unrestricted aggressiveness. Even in the championship match, where India lost to Australia by six wickets, Rohit opened the scoring with his usual fiery 31-ball 47; however, his dismissal in the tenth over robbed the Indians of their fluency and ultimately saw them bowled out for 240, which proved to be a remarkably insufficient total.

India needs Rohit to be sharp and productive at the World Cup. It is anticipated that most US and Caribbean sites would have slower surfaces, which will increase the significance of frantic beginnings against the new ball. When India travels to the Americas, they will need Rohit, the 50-over World Cup enforcer, to return. Leading by example is the strongest motivation for a team, and Rohit has done just that throughout his two years in charge.

Although Rohit has remained silent and attempted to cover behind flimsy humour whenever the subject has come up, it’s clear that he doesn’t like how he was removed from his position as captain of a team that he helped win five IPL championships. None of that lingering, residual, sour aftertaste will be an unwanted companion when he is back in the blue of India for what would undoubtedly be his final T20 World Cup. Before he leaves with a few of his friends from eliminated teams for the Americas early next week, Rohit has one last game to prove himself against the Lucknow Super Giants at his beloved Wankhede on Friday. Significant runs won’t be harmful, and nobody is aware of that more clearly than Rohit does.

But come World Cup time, one can count on a focused, dedicated Rohit. Now that he’s back in control, he won’t require reminding that he has to grab the reins as the leader. Yes, this prolonged slump is a persistent concern. Rohit has the responsibility to make sure that’s all that’s left.

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