Former Australian cricketer and acclaimed coach Tom Moody has criticized Delhi Capitals for their strange decision of trading New Zealand pace spearhead Trent Boult to Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2020.
Boult, considered one of the world’s premium fast bowlers, has been a rampant success in IPL 2020 and has formed a deadly bowling combination alongside Jasprit Bumrah.
Moody, who was the coach of SunRisers Hyderabad till 2019, slammed the move, calling it extraordinary.
“To me that was an extraordinary move. And I know that at that point at that trade, they didn’t know that the tournament was going to move to the UAE. But even so, Trent Boult would be deadly in Mumbai because that is one venue where the ball would swing,” Moody told ESPNCricinfo.
The Kiwi pacer has racked up 22 wickets from 14 games and is currently third in the race for the Purple Cap. He has been a vital cog in the wheel for Mumbai, providing them with those crucial early breakthroughs.
Calling the left-arm quick as one of the best powerplay bowlers, Moody said: “And Boult is one of the best powerplay bowlers in the IPL so to gift him to one of the strongest teams, if not the strongest team of the whole tournament, an ace like that, it’s extraordinary.”
The decision to gift him away came back to haunt the Capitals as during their crucial Qualifier 1 against Mumbai Indians, Boult removed both Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane in the very first over of their innings, leaving them stuttering at 0/2. The Capitals failed to recover following those lusty blows early on and lost the game by 57 runs.
Moody further opined that if the Capitals still wanted to move Boult, they could have sold him to one of the weaker teams but not to the strongest side, Mumbai Indians – the defending champions and the most successful team in IPL history with 4 titles.
“If they were wanting to cash their chips in so to speak with Trent Boult, they should have just done it through the auction and let not only Mumbai but other teams fish around for Trent Boult.”
