Does Hardik Pandya deserve to be an 18 crore player for MI? asks Tom Moody

Tom Moody has questioned if Hardik Pandya should be the top retention for MI after his underwhelming campaign last season. Hardik is one of the big star names MI will be looking to retain next season.

In Short

• Moody feels Bumrah and Suryakumar should be the 18 crore players for MI
• Moody said that Hardik could be retained at 14 crore
• Hardik scored 216 runs and picked up 11 wickets

Former SRH coach Tom Moody has asked if Hardik Pandya is a player MI should be retaining for 18 crore and making him their top pick in the process. The new IPL retention rules mean that the franchises can retain a total of 6 players either through retentions or RTMs. The top player to be retained will be at a price of 18 crore and the other 2 retentions will be at 14 and 11. If the teams want to retain 2 more players, then they would have to get them for 18 and 14 crores.

MI has a host of stars like Hardik, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, who can be retained in those 5 slabs. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Moody said he would have Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav retained in the 18 crore and Hardik at 14. The Aussie coach feels that an 18 crore p0layer hyas to be a genuine match-winner for the side and plays regularly.

"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, and Hardik at 14. (Leaving) is up to him 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? If you've got to be an 18 crore player, you've got to be a genuine match-winner 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.

MI will have some hard decisions

Moody also said that MI has had a few issues at the auction table over the last couple of years and pointed out to the buys of Ishan Kishan and Jofra Archer, who underperformed for the franchise.

"They've had a little bit of problem at the auction table last couple of years. They've 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? 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're 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," said Moody.

Hardik is currently getting ready for the Bangladesh T20I series. Hardik had an underwhelming campaign for MI last season as he scored 216 runs and picked up 11 wickets.