Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel has shared his thoughts on the first match of the upcoming 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which will see defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 9.
Significantly, Parthiv has represented both the franchises in the past.
Speaking about the Virat Kohli-led side, Parthiv felt the RCB would miss the services of release of Moeen Ali, who was pocketed by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the mini-auction in February.
The cricketer-turned-commentator said if the England all-rounder had been there in RCB, it would have been a ‘different XI altogether’.
“I think, there were a lot of questions to be answered in the auction, but I don’t think they have answered those questions. Just because they were not expecting it to go out of Bangalore. Hence, Moeen Ali went. If Moeen Ali was there, it would have been a different XI altogether. And one player actually can change the composition of the XI,” said Parthiv on Star Sports.
“Attention was to try to get away from ABD and Virat, but how much attention they are trying to win it away inside the team will matter the most and not outside of the team,” he added.
Meanwhile, Parthiv further also reckoned that MI won’t make much changes to their playing XI as their bowling unit looks completely settled in a venue like Chennai.
“If they are playing in Chennai, you might expect some spinner but from the Mumbai Indians point of view, I don’t think they have to tinker a lot with their playing XI because Hardik Pandya is bowling quite a bit now, almost bowling 4 overs, Pollard bowls his slower ones really well, which might be useful on a Chennai wicket,” Parthiv expressed.
And obviously, Rahul Chahar had an outstanding IPL, a couple of outstanding IPLs and hence, he was picked for India. Krunal Pandya’s 4 overs, his form in domestic cricket, so I can go on and on about it,” he added.