What should MI do?: A fan's perspective

Except in the inaugural season of IPL, MI have always been regarded as one of the favourites to win the IPL. Yet we are in season 6 of the cricket extravaganza and the IPL trophy is still elusive to the team based in Mumbai. With an accomplished line up filled with star power, it is hard to imagine that such a team has never won the IPL yet, especially after winning the Champions League T20 in 2011 with a second string side.

It’s no rocket science that to win the IPL you not only require good foreign recruits, but also a strong Indian presence. As per the rules, the playing eleven can only consist of 4 foreigners. So the nucleus of the team is made up of Indian players. MI has one of the strongest local talents in their ranks. Only CSK is the other team with such a strong Indian contingent. We all know CSK has been the most consistent team in the previous five seasons of the IPL, winning it twice and runners up on two other occasions. In fact, CSK has reached all the finals of the IPL’s held in India. Only time they didn’t make it to the finals was in IPL 2 when it was held in South Africa. MI have reached the finals only once and reached the play offs in 2011 and 2012 season. So what exactly has gone wrong for a team filled with superstars and icons? Here’s my opinion what MI should do in the sixth season of IPL.

Opening has always been a problem for MI since the first season. Several opening partnerships have been tried and tested with little reward. For me, Sachin Tendulkar should continue opening the batting as he was a regular opener for India in ODIs format and has a stupendous record as an opener. Having him open with Ricky Ponting may be a box office delight and would be every cricket fans’ dream come true to watch two of the modern greats open for a team, but in the larger context this will affect the team to a certain extent. Both are known for their ability to pace the innings nicely. Ideally a team’s opening partnership should have a guy who can hold one end up and the other can just go bang-bang from the first over. Ponting is not the guy to do this and it was evident in the first match. Opening with Maxwell or Dwayne Smith would be a good option as both are known for their big hitting capabilities. Depending on the conditions, either one should be picked to open with Sachin.

The middle order should be flexible. The days are gone when the batting lineup used to be in the same order as mentioned in the team sheet during the toss. I get a feeling that MI has not utilized their batting line up to the fullest so far. Ricky Ponting, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik and Kieron Pollard should be sent to bat as per the match situations. While batting first if Maxwell or Dwayne Smith gets out cheaply, then Sharma or Ambati Rayudu should be sent in. But if Sachin gets out early (say between 1 to 9 overs), then Ricky Ponting should be sent in. Similarly, while chasing and if the target is too high, then sending in a Dinesh Karthik or Kieron Pollard early would do no harm to the team’s cause. A big hitter like Pollard should be sent in when there are at least 5 or 6 overs left in the game and not when there are just 2 balls left! Even a power hitter like Gayle takes 7 to 8 balls to unleash himself.

The bowling front looks more settled. Malinga will have to bear the brunt of the bowling and Munaf Patel, along with the new find Juspreet Bumroh, Dhaval Kulkarni or Abu Nechim, will have to support Lasith. Harbhajan Singh is the lead spinner but given Bhajji’s recent form, he will be wary of the fact that Pragyan Ojha is waiting in the wings to take his place. Ojha was the purple cap holder in IPL 2010 when MI last reached finals. Ojha was playing for the now defunct team Deccan Chargers at the time. Glen Maxwell can also roll his arm over, if required.

Ideally, the four foreigners in the MI line up should be Ricky Ponting, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard and Glen Maxwell/Dwayne Smith (depending on the conditions). Phil Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, James Franklin/Jacob Oram and Adrian Blizzard should be their back ups. Nathan Couter-Nile is also a good pace bowler.

These are just my suggestions from a fan’s point of view. Hope someone from the MI think tank reads this and implements at least a few, if not all, suggestions in the remaining matches of MI.