Mahela Jayawardene is one of the best cricketers to have ever graced the sport of cricket, scoring over 10,000 plus runs in Test and ODI format. Even after his retirement from international cricket, he continues to excel in T20 cricket leagues around the world. The world witnessed Jayawardene's amazing spark in the Super Smash, scoring 56-ball 116 for the Central Districts in New Zealand.
The Sri Lankan has been a regular feature in the domestic T20 leagues as he played as an overseas player in the Bangladesh Premier League 2016, and will also play for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League 2017.
But the Mumbai Indians did not take that route, and went another way. The franchise decided to appoint Jayawardene as the head coach of the Mumbai Indians, replacing Ricky Ponting in the all-important post as former Australian's two-year was not extended by the MI management.
Did Mumbai Indians miss the trick in appointing him as a coach?
If one looked at the incredible innings of the Sri Lankan in the Super Smash on Wednesday, bowlers in the IPL might be happy that Jayawardene will not use his batting skills in the next edition of the competition, while MI might be thinking if they should have bought him at the players' auction.
Jayawardene still packs a punch in his batting, and can play world-class bowlers in his own style, dismissing them all over the park with wide range of shots. He hit 12 fours and seven sixes in his knock of 116 runs, which reflects that he can take on the bowlers and score big runs for the team.
But one was not surprised when the former Sri Lankan took the opportunity to become a fulltime coach of Mumbai Indians. He was appointed as the coach last month, and Jayawardene was excited about the appointment then.
Though Jayawardene must have been aware that he can score runs in the IPL, remaining unsold in the last two IPL auctions might have also led to this decision. Also teams are always on the lookout of experienced players, who can feature for their respective franchise as part of the support staff. The Mumbai Indians were aware of Jayawardene, who has a rich IPL experience playing for Kings XI Punjab, Kochi Tuskers and Delhi Daredevils.
The MI management will hope for greater things from Jayawardene. Mumbai Indians, for a start, will be eager to use his IPL experience in the auction in February, and hope that the Sri Lankan is able to build a good squad and win their third title.
