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Nearly halfway through the ongoing Indian Premier League season, a major shock has been the campaign endured by five-time winners MI, who have gone through an eight-match losing streak and are yet to get on board.
The Rohit Sharma-led side haven’t warmed up to the post mega auction season, with their weakened bowling unit and unsettled, out-of-form batting department combining negatively to lead to their downfall.
Having to let go of their mainstays Quinton de Kock, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Trent Boult and Rahul Chahar in the pre-auction retention/release process, the franchise also had arguably their worst auction in recent years.
They failed to bring in adequate replacements in either department and went for multiple high-priced buys without really covering enough basis. And to pile on their problems, even their incumbents have failed to come to the party and provide consistent performances that would’ve helped fetch at least two or three wins to keep the campaign alive.
With MI’s playoff hopes nearly dashed in a realistic account, we focus today on the five biggest issues that have held their horses back in IPL 2022.
What is Ishan Kishan doing?
Picked at the mega auction for INR 15 crores, wicketkeeper-batter Kishan has looked woefully out of touch with his batting in the tournament so far. Expected to play the top-order aggressor, the left-hander has been muddled in his thought process and approach at the crease. The 23-year-old has made 199 runs from his eight innings but they have come at a pedestrian strike-rate of 108.15.
With the IPL expanding to 10 teams, bowling attacks have gone weaker but also varied at the same time, throwing up more negative match-ups for players like Kishan, who has always looked vulnerable against quality spin and swing movement.
Outside a breakthrough IPL 2020, this is Kishan from the 2018 season for MI – 34 innings, 808 runs at 25.25, SR 128.86. His persistent tryst with inconsistency has led to a big question: is he a better player in perceptions than reality?
Rohit the captain needs Sharma the batter
Lauded for five titles as skipper with MI at their robust best, this season has been a reality check for Sharma the skipper, who is now having to manage weakened bowling resources and expect his unsettled batting unit to cover up. The realistic nature and limitation of captaincy could never be more apparent.
But there is something to be said about Rohit the batter in MI colours, and it is that he hasn’t made his presence felt for a long time now. He is averaging 19 after eight matches of this year’s IPL, with his 153 runs coming at an insufficient strike-rate of 126.45 on good batting pitches.
Since the start of the 2017 season, Rohit is averaging 25.70 with a strike-rate of 127.47, an issue that has slipped eyeballs under the shining light of all the trophies he has lifted as skipper.
Bowling is as thin as paper
From boasting a master new-ball swing bowler in Boult inside the powerplay, a hard-length warrior in James Pattinson or Nathan Coulter-Nile, and spin being handled by understated figures of Krunal and Chahar, MI’s bowling attack has been reduced to Bumrah or nothing.
Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat and Tymal Mills, their pace replacements, have gone for 9.50, 9.62 and 11.17 runs per over in the tournament, respectively, while their spin replacement Murugan Ashwin (7.80) hasn’t provided the same level of control as Krunal did.
Without sounding disrespectful to these gents, this is the weakest set of bowlers that MI have fielded together since the early days of IPL cricket. And this unsustainable group has not only given consistently above par runs for the surfaces on disposal in Maharashtra but also put MI’s out-of-form batting unit under pressure to aim for bigger scores and take greater risks at the crease.
Teams are playing out Jasprit Bumrah
One player who has felt the knock-on effect of a diminished support cast is ace quick Bumrah, who is simply being played out by opposition teams as they are getting to consistently feast on indifferent bowling at the other end. With next to no pressure sustained by the rest, teams have been able to keep risks at bay against Bumrah, which has told in his figures for the season.
The pacer has taken five wickets from eight games while averaging a horrible 45.80. So while Bumrah’s economy rate of 7.55 has been largely fine for a bowler operating in tough phases on good batting pitches, he hasn’t been able to make the same level of impact as he previously did. Individually, however, Bumrah would be livid not to have closed out the game against Delhi Capitals at the start of the season.
When is Kieron Pollard cutting loose?
Having to bat down the order in some hopeless situations has affected Pollard’s game, too, as he has averaged a woeful 16 while carrying an insignificant strike-rate of 127.78 over the first eight games.
The explosive West Indies batter has failed to come to the party so far, allowing bowlers to dictate terms to him in the end-overs.
Pollard has perhaps missed the helping hand of Pandya brothers from the previous edition of the IPL. The duo of Hardik and Krunal would often blast the opposition down the order and ease things up for him. With that cushion and support gone, is Pollard feeling the extra load on him?
