IPL 2022: Aakash Chopra on Kieron Pollard and Ishan Kishan's struggles for Mumbai Indians

Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Kieron Pollard has failed to bring his big-hitting game to the fore for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2022.

Pollard scored 19 runs off 20 balls in last night's (April 24) Indian Premier League encounter against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). MI went on to lose the match by 36 runs, their eighth consecutive defeat this season.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra reflected on the poor returns of some of the Mumbai Indians' star batters in IPL 2022. He said the following about Pollard:

"Kieron Pollard's bat is not striking the ball at all. Whatever he does, he is going at run-a-ball only. Quite a few times, it seems Jaydev Unadkat is hitting more than him. This is the reality where this team is standing."

While highlighting that Ishan Kishan is also enduring a similar run as Pollard, the cricketer-turned-commentator was critical of MI skipper Rohit Sharma's shot selection. Chopra elaborated:

"Ishan Kishan's bat is not at all hitting the ball. It is worth seeing that a player's confidence can go so low. You are getting tears in your eyes when you see the guy is not able to bat. He was trying and the way he got out, it cannot get worse than that. What was that? Rohit Sharma was playing well, he played a bad shot to get out."

The Mumbai Indians have been hit hard by the lack of runs from Sharma, Kishan and Pollard's willows. While Kishan has faded away after a couple of good knocks at the start of the tournament, Sharma and Pollard average less than 20 in the ongoing edition of the IPL.

Check out the full IPL teams owner here.

"What a leveler this game is" - Aakash Chopra on the Mumbai Indians' eighth consecutive defeat

The Mumbai Indians will be playing for pride in the remainder of IPL 2022 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra added that the Mumbai Indians' dismal run in IPL 2022 shows the vagaries of the game of cricket. He observed:

"Mumbai were handed their eighth defeat. They are not taking the name of winning, they win the toss as well but still lose the match. What a leveler this game is. You are five-time champions, however bad you play, however was the auction, whatever you do, it does not happen that you lose all eight matches."

While acknowledging that the five-time champions might not be the formidable side of the past, the 44-year-old expressed surprise at their string of defeats. Chopra said:

"You were back at your home ground. You had the support of the crowd but still a win was far from you. This is incredible what is happening because they are a better team than this. Agree the team is not as good as it used to be in the last few years but luck is also not on their side. I don't know what's happening."

The Mumbai Indians are yet to open their account in IPL 2022 and are placed last in the IPL 2022 points table. They will hope to salvage some pride by stringing a few wins in the remaining matches and avoiding finishing rock-bottom. According to the IPL schedule 2022, MI will next take on third-placed Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, April 30.