Harbhajan keen to have Sachin back as opener

Commenting on the Mumbai Indians’ opening woes after their 7-wicket defeat to the Delhi Daredevils on April 16 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Captain Harbhajan Singh claimed that he was keen on finding a winning pair to open for the team, adding that he was looking forward to having Sachin Tendulkar back.

“Levi is having a bit of a hard time with the left-arm spinners and we need to reconsider what other options we have (at the top). We will see by the next game what is the best possible XI we can play,” the skipper said.

Tendulkar only managed to play one match for the Mumbai Indians during the current ongoing 5th edition of the Indian Premier League – he opened with Richard Levi in the season opener against the Chennai Super Kings (which the Mumbai Indians went on to win), and while they managed a solid 69-run opening stand, the Little Master was forced to retire hurt after a delivery by Doug Bollinger hit him on the finger.

Since then, the 38-year-old has been out of action, and the Mumbai Indians, currently at number 4 on the points table after winning 3 of their 5 matches, have been struggling to find a replacement at the top of the batting order.

The pair of Levi and Ambati Rayudu failed to work during their next match, against the Pune Warriors. Levi was dismissed on duck on the 2nd delivery of the match, and Rayudu followed soon after in the 2nd over.

Harbhajan employed Tirumalasetti Suman as an opener during the subsequent match against the Deccan Chargers, but the pair of Levi and Suman also failed to fire, putting only 7 runs on the board before the latter was dismissed by Dale Steyn.

The two managed a slightly better score in the next match against the Rajasthan Royals – an opening stand of 28. However, the Mumbai Indians were back on square one in their most recent match, against the Delhi Daredevils, when Shahbaz Nadeem took openers Levi (1) and Davy Jacobs (0) out before a partnership could be established.

In light of the current opening woes, the Mumbai Indians' skipper is keen to have Sachin back in the team.

“Of course, it will be nice to have Sachin back. I'm sure he will be back by the next game if nothing goes wrong," Harbhajan said. "If he is batting with any of the foreigners, it makes it easier for them to score runs. He can take a lot of pressure from the other partner."