'Does Hardik deserve to be an 18 crore player?': Moody

IMAGE: Hardik Pandya scored just 216 runs in 13 innings at an average of 18.0 for bottom placed Mumbai Indians in the IPL last season. Photograph: Mumbai Indians

Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody questioned if star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is worth being retained for Rs 18 crore by the Mumbai Indians (MI) for the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and also revealed his retention picks for the next season for the five-time champions.

Last year, the five-time champions brought back all-rounder Hardik Pandya to the franchise as a captain following his two-year-stint with Gujarat Titans (GT), which proved to be a controversial decision.

The decision did not meet the approval of the majority of the franchise's fans, who booed Hardik out of the stadium across India throughout the 2024 season.

MI finished the last season at the bottom of the table with just four wins in 14 games, and even Hardik underperformed throughout the tournament, scoring just 216 runs in 13 innings at an average of 18.00 with not even a single fifty and 11 wickets.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Moody said that Rohit would be a "little disillusioned" with what happened over the last 6-12 months with the franchise and kept Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma among his picks.

"The way that things panned out in the last edition of the IPL, he (Rohit Sharma) would be, I think, a little bit disillusioned with what happened over the last 6-12 months. I would have Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav at 18 crores, and Hardik at 14. Leaving is up to him (Hardik), or you can put it down to his performance, form, and fitness."

"And when you dissect all of those areas with Hardik Pandya, does he deserve to be an 18 crore player? Is he worth it? If you have got to be an 18 crore player, you have got to be a genuine matchwinner and do it regularly. Hardik Pandya, through his trials and tribulations over the last edition of the IPL, was struggling with both fitness and performance. Tilak Varma absolutely," said Moody.

He also questioned young wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan's place in the team, saying that though he is "terrific and exciting", he is also "very hot and cold".

Kishan scored 320 runs in 14 games last season, with just two fifties.

"I look at Ishan Kishan, and I think 'look he's a terrific player and is exciting. But also runs very hot and cold. How many matches has he won out of his bat; that's a question you've got to ask. If you are paying him around 14 crore for retention, are you going to get the return from a performance point of view? They will have to make some hard decisions," Moody said.

Moody remarked that MI has had problems at auction table over the years, as players like Kishan and Jofra Archer failed to provide the returns in recent seasons, with Archer missing out the 2022 season and playing just five matches in the 2023 season.

"They have had a little bit of a problem at the auction table last couple of years. They have gotten caught up in a way too loyal in some cases and tried to retain, or get players back into their squad, which has cost them dearly. Classic examples were Ishan Kishan and Jofra Archer, both coming at a heavy price. Did they get the return?" Moody concluded.