0-5 in IPL 2022: What is going wrong for Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians?

Five games, five losses. It is not looking good for five-time champion Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2022. After 23 games in this season’s T20 league, it is the only team yet to register a win. It is languishing at the bottom of the table, at 10th place.

So, what is going wrong for the Rohit Sharma-led franchise which is one of the most successful teams in the history of IPL?

The answer is, that a lot of things are going wrong.

“At the end of the day you’ve got to play good cricket, we’ve not been able to do that,” was Rohit’s explanation for the team’s defeats.

SKY’s unavailability

To start with, let us dwell on how Mumbai has not been able to get the right XI so far in the five matches. For the first two games, Suryakumar Yadav aka SKY was unavailable and it did affect the team.

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Yadav has been Mumbai’s key batsman in the middle order, and yet again he has proved it. In the three matches he has played so far, he has already emerged the team’s highest run-getter with 163 runs with two half-centuries.

On Wednesday night (April 13), as Mumbai slumped to its fifth consecutive loss, against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Pune, Yadav almost took the team home but his dismissal in the 19th over sealed the contest.

Rohit’s lack of runs

Another major reason for Mumbai’s debacle is Rohit’s lack of runs at the top of the order. The skipper is known to give his team rousing starts, be it for India or his franchise. In five matches thus far, the right-hander has 108 runs in his kitty and there is no half-ton, his highest being 41. He averages 21.60. If Mumbai has to do well, Rohit has to fire.

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Rohit has to stay long at the crease. In five visits to the middle, he has faced only 81 balls. The longer he stays, the more chances of Mumbai posting a big total or being successful in run chases.

Young middle order

Mumbai has a young middle order. Though South African Dewald Brevis and Indian batter Tilak Varma have done well in their roles so far, they have a long way to go before nailing their spots. Brevis showed what he is capable of when he smashed four successive sixes off Punjab spinner Rahul Chahar. Varma too has shone brightly.

💎💎#OneFamily #DilKholKe #MumbaiIndians #MIvPBKS #DewaldBrevis #TilakVarma pic.twitter.com/qAjjykuXe8

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 14, 2022

The team’s middle order now mainly revolves around Yadav, Brevis and Varma. Left-handed Varma has scored 157 runs and Brevis 86. They need to be consistent though the youngsters can’t be put under too much pressure as it’s their debut IPL season.

Pollard the finisher

The big West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has played the finisher’s role to perfection. He has single-handedly won many games not only for Mumbai but for others as well in franchise T20 cricket. He is vastly experienced and knows how when to unleash the big hits. So far, he too has not been at his best, scoring 57 off 47 balls in five innings.

If Yadav and Pollard combine together well, they can finish games against any opposition. Pollard’s untimely run out against Punjab when he was batting with Yadav, proved decisive.

Misfiring bowling

We all know how good Jasprit Bumrah is. Be it for India or Mumbai, Bumrah has delivered the goods. This season, the opposition seems to be content with not taking many risks against the champion bowler. Bumrah has only four wickets to show in five games at an economy of 7.90. Of the four wickets, three came in one game alone, versus Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Bumrah has gone wicketless in three out of the five contests, against Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Though Jaydev Unadkat, Murugan Ashwin and Tymal Mills are experienced in T20s, they have not been able to support Bumrah well. Paceman Basil Thampi who has played all five games, has been unimpressive, going at 9.50 per over.

Mumbai possessed a potent bowling attack which helped in claim multiple trophies. Lasith Malinga was the leader of that pack and was a nightmare for opposition batsmen. In the current season, Mumbai is also lacking a quality spinner.

Foreign players

Mumbai, after fielding the full quota of four overseas players in its opening three games, opted to go in with just two and three foreigners in the last two games. This shows lack of faith in the available players including Singapore’s Tim David, who got only two games. He was bought at the auction for Rs 8.25 crore but he has not got the backing of the team management.

Hope I’m proven wrong but all @mipaltan success has come from playing 2 overseas bowlers. One bounce one swing/Yorkers – desperate for this win 😭

— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) April 13, 2022

Daniel Sams, the Australian, was dumped after his match-turning costly over against Kolkata. Left-arm paceman Sams bowled the third most expensive over in the history of IPL when he was plundered for 35 runs by Pat Cummins.

Dew factor

Just like other teams, Mumbai too has been impacted by the dew factor. In five games, Mumbai has bowled second in three games. And, Bumrah mentioned how dew has played a part.

“So far in the four games we have bowled second three times, so it is a little different when the dew settles in, and how the wicket reacts from the first innings,” Bumrah had said before the Punjab game, where Mumbai bowled first.

“It is interesting to see how the wickets will go after midway of the tournament. We’ll be keeping an eye but right now we are just focusing on what is the current scenario and if at all we bowl second, what are the options that we can bring to the table and what are the options that we should use when there is dew on the wicket,” he added.

Auction strategy

Many experts feel Mumbai got everything wrong at the auction table. It splurged Rs 8 crore on England fast bowler Jofra Archer despite him not being available for this season. If Archer was teaming up with Bumrah it would have all been a different story for Mumbai. But it was not to be.

The team knew Jofra won’t play IPL 2022 due to injury and wanted him for next season. This is proving to be a costly mistake for the franchise.

Mumbai’s head coach Mahela Jayawardene admitted that the team is feeing Archer’s absence. “Obviously, one of the best bowlers we bought at the auction is Jof (Jofra Archer), Jof is not here. It is tough when you are in that kind of a situation.”

Transition phase

Before the Punjab game, Bumrah said the team was in a transition phase and they need not panic.

“This is a transition phase. We have got some new faces in the middle who are learning about their game and will only get better. So, I don’t think we need to panic and make a lot of changes. We just need to be a little patient and back their talent, which we are going to do.

“That is what I feel the plan going further would be. We have the belief in their talent, that is why they are in the squad, so we give them enough games and we back their talent,” he opined.

Jayawardene shed light on Mumbai’s bowling attack which is entirely new now after the mega auction. “We’ve built a bowling attack over a period of four or five seasons. With the big auction, we were not able to retain that options. We knew that. We needed to be different and try and see how best we can execute. We still have some good quality bowlers; the skillsets are a bit different. We are trying to figure out how best we can control that.”

SKY must not bat at 5. If you are forced to push him that far down the order while chasing a mountain, you’re probably playing the wrong XI. #IPL2022

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 13, 2022

What next?

It is never easy to bounce back after five successive losses. For Mumbai, it knows how to do it as the side was in a similar situation in IPL 2014 too. The players rose from those depths to make the playoffs with seven wins (14 points).

Now too, they need to take inspiration from that. However, making the top four could just not depend only on its performances but also on others as this season it is a 10-team league unlike previous editions’ where eight were there.

In previous editions, seven wins would have been enough to make the playoffs. This year, it could be different. Mumbai’s net run rate is also worse among all teams at -1.072.

In nine of the remaining matches, Mumbai has to win at least eight and then see how things go. Even then, a place in the playoffs may not be guaranteed.

If there is one man who can inspire a Mumbai turnaround, it is captain Rohit. He is now the all-format Indian skipper and he has to show how he can lift the team when the chips are down.

Owner’s message

Mumbai owner Nita Ambani, in a message to the team, said she has faith in the players and believed that the team will “conquer this”.

“I have full faith and belief in all of you all and I’m sure we’ll pull through. Now, we’re only going to be onwards and upwards. We need to believe in ourselves that we’re going to conquer this,” she had said after the team’s fourth loss.

“We’ve been through this many times before, and then gone ahead and won the cup. So, I have full trust and belief that you stick to each other. If you’re by each other, we’ll conquer this,” she added.

The road ahead may seem difficult for Rohit and his men, but they have no other choice to believe in themselves and “conquer” again.

Words from our captain after #MIvPBKS.#OneFamily #DilKholKe #MumbaiIndians @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/HLsInEAJLM

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 13, 2022