Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has questioned Rohit Sharma's captaincy credentials after Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 opener on Sunday. The Englishman believes that Rohit made a tactical error against the Virat Kohli-starrer side by not allowing speedster Jofra Archer to kickstart Mumbai's proceedings in the blockbuster contest at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
One of the fastest bowlers in the world, England's Archer made his MI debut against RCB in match No.5 of the IPL 2023 at Bengaluru. Returning to the IPL for the first time in three years, Archer capped off a forgetful day at the office thanks to an on-song Kohli. The former RCB skipper not only won his epic duel against the England star, but the veteran batter also propelled Bangalore to a comfortable win over the record-time IPL champions.
Speaking to Cribbuzz after RCB crushed MI in their IPL 2023 opener, former England skipper Vaughan was baffled by Rohit's decision to use Archer in the fourth over of RCB innings. "I was surprised that Jofra Archer bowled the fourth. When you've got a relatively small total, I'd have Jofra on from one of the first two overs. They need to get early wickets. You have to go for your trump card, and if that's a pre-planned move that Jofra's going to bowl four and six, there's time in cricket and in T20 cricket when you've got to go against your pre-plan," Vaughan said.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking to Cribbuzz after RCB crushed MI in their IPL 2023 opener, former England skipper Vaughan was baffled by Rohit's decision to use Archer in the fourth over of RCB innings. "I was surprised that Jofra Archer bowled the fourth. When you've got a relatively small total, I'd have Jofra on from one of the first two overs. They need to get early wickets. You have to go for your trump card, and if that's a pre-planned move that Jofra's going to bowl four and six, there's time in cricket and in T20 cricket when you've got to go against your pre-plan," Vaughan said.
{{/usCountry}}Playing a match-winning knock for Du Plessis and Co. at Bengaluru, batting maestro Kohli kickstarted his IPL 2023 with a brilliant half-century against five-time winners Mumbai. While Kohli played a scintillating knock of 82 off 49 balls, RCB skipper Du Plessis smashed 73 off 43 balls as RCB handed Mumbai an eight-wicket defeat in their IPL 2023 opener.
"I don't think it was easy for him [Jofra Archer] to come because they were 30/0 when he got his fist over. They are both in, got their eyes in. It's not an easy two overs to be bowling when you've got two outstanding players set. I think it'd have been better suited to bowling at the top and trying to knock one or two of them over," he added.
Pacer Archer bowled four overs and leaked 33 runs in his first outing at the IPL 2023. The Mumbai Indians pacer went wicketless on his MI debut against RCB. Archer had joined MI for a whopping sum of INR 8 crore at the IPL 2022 auction. The speedster had missed the entire IPL 2022 due to an injury.
"It's a different pressure than what you have when you go back to play for your international team. Yes, there is pressure playing for your international team, but you've got real protection around you that you know you're going to be playing a few games. Look at Harry Brook, playing for the first time in the IPL. He didn't look like the player that he had been in an England jersey for the last six months. The IPL brings a different pressure," Vaughan concluded.