Former Team India and Mumbai Indians player Harbhajan Singh feels that the current IPL season belongs to the Hardik Pandya-led side. He commented after the five-time champions registered their seventh win of the 18th season to reach the top of the table. MI were in all sorts of trouble at the start of the tournament, losing one game after another. However, their close win over Delhi Capitals in an away match lifted the morale of the players, and they haven’t looked back since then. In their recent game against the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, Mumbai registered a 100-run win while defending 217.

It was for the first time that the top four batters of the team clicked in one game, with Ryan Rickelton (61), Rohit Sharma (53), Suryakumar Yadav (48) and Hardik (48) showing their class. In the bowling department, Trent Boult (3 wickets), Karn Sharma (3 wickets), Jasprit Bumrah (2 wickets), Hardik (1 wicket) and Deepak Chahar (1 wicket) bowled brilliantly.

Bhajji mentioned that Mumbai are the most deserving team to win the competition for the sixth time. “If Mumbai Indians don’t win the IPL trophy this year, other franchises also don’t deserve to lift the trophy. I don’t want to count Jasprit Bumrah as when he comes back, he is like a Bahubali. They have Boult, Chahar, Will Jacks, Hardik, Karn and Corbin Bosch as the bowling options,” he said.

“They have the team that can win the tournament, and this is their year. Nobody will be able to catch them, and I am sure they will lift the trophy for the sixth time,” he added.

Almost all the players of Mumbai have hit form and are now performing consistently at the business end of the tournament.