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Five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, Mumbai Indians (MI) are off to a dismal start in the 2024 season. They are currently placed last with losses in all of their three games.
MI began their 2024 campaign with a six-run loss against the Gujarat Titans (GT). In their second game, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were ruthless in posting the highest-ever IPL total of 277 against them, resulting in a 31-run loss for the team.
Mumbai's most recent encounter witnessed them squaring off against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). They could post only a meager total of 125 on the board, after being reduced to 20/4. In reply, RR chased down the score in less than 16 overs.
On that note, let's look at three things MI have done wrong so far in the IPL 2024 season.
1) Inexperienced bowling line-up of MI
Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, Mumbai let go of England speedster Jofra Archer, who could not feature heavily for the team in the last two seasons due to injury concerns. As a result, the only experienced pacer in the MI line-up is Jasprit Bumrah, who has done well this season to secure three wickets at an economy of 6.33.
However, the 17-year-old Kwene Maphaka and Gerald Coetzee are not experienced enough in the IPL and have been hammered all around the park. Maphaka has conceded 69 runs in six overs, while Coetzee has an expensive economy of 11.43 in three games. In their place, MI can give a longer rope to Luke Wood, who has a fair amount of experience in franchise cricket.
Although the inclusion of Akash Madhwal saw him take three wickets against RR, MI could not clinch a victory owing to their troubles in securing breakthroughs from the other end.
2) Exclusion of Mohammad Nabi
So far, Mumbai have given chances to Piyush Chawla and Shams Mulani in the spin department. Mulani bowled five overs and conceded 57 runs while going wicketless in two games. As a result, the left-arm spinner was dropped from the side.
Meanwhile, Chawla has picked up two wickets at an economy of 10.38 and looked ineffective in the last game on a flat surface.
The team management can include the veteran Mohammad Nabi, who is known to secure wickets and contain batters. He can replace Dewald Brevis and bolster the team's batting department as well.
3) Inconsistency of opening pair
The opening pair of the team, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan have failed to score runs in tandem in the 2024 season. They have returned with partnerships of 0, 56, and 1 in three matches.
It is evident that Sharma-Kishan have accumulated 1,418 runs together in 43 IPL innings, and played a key role in title victories for MI in 2019 and 2020. They certainly need to push the paddle and deliver good starts for the franchise.
It will be interesting to see if they can form a potent pair in the upcoming matches and help MI open their account in the IPL 2024.
