T20 2018: Mumbai's sizzling Krunal Pandya is India material

Krunal Pandya's cameo helped Mumbai beat Punjab in Indore on Friday

Indore has a small ground and yet Punjab's 174 looked an imposing total for fans of Mumbai. Such is the anxiety around Mumbai these days! It's a must-win situation each time for Mumbai and even though they won comfortably in the end on Friday, they might still feel that they could have achieved more from this win.

Had they not conceded 22 in the last over, Mumbai would have been sitting prettier from a Net Run Rate perspective as they finished the game with an over to spare. These ifs and buts probably have no place in this great game, but they are points to ponder over.

Normal service seems to have resumed for Jasprit Bumrah and with Mumbai now appearing to have ditched the Kieron Pollard plan in the Punjab, Ben Cutting will have to shoulder some of the bowling burden. There may come a time when their No. 6 or 7 will need to get 20-plus in one over and they fancy Cutting above Pollard.

Surya is the key
For me, the guy who can get them to the playoffs is Suryakumar Yadav. He is easily the most in-form batsman in the team and will relish this responsibility. He'll need to hand-hold Mumbai to a win or more in the ensuing five games. I believe he has the skill, the batting mind and more importantly, leadership instincts to shepherd Mumbai into the playoffs.

Evin Lewis and Ishan Kishan need to get into their act together as well to allow their team a little bit of cushion before Rohit Sharma comes in. The skipper has been brave and is doing the heavy lifting to take his team over the line, but if your second opener and No. 3 are not coming to the party, it's a non-starter.

Krunal, best rookie pick
The more I see of Krunal Pandya, the more I think that he is easily Mumbai's best rookie pick ever. I think Kiran More probably had a hand in alerting Mumbai about Krunal. On Friday, he came in and closed the game through his 31 off 12 with nonchalance. A couple of his sixes were totally manufactured, and that's what I mean when I say he has fantastic game awareness.

In football, coaches call this 'vision.' He has a positive vibe about him and seems to relish pressure situations. The ball is coming out of his hand very nicely too. All in all, he is India material.

Jatin Paranjape, the former international and national selector, tweets @jats72

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