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Mumbai Indians Struggle to Find Spark, Jayawardene Calls for Improvement
Four losses in five games have left Mumbai Indians reeling, with head coach Mahela Jayawardene saying the team is still trying to find the “spark” that has eluded them so far.
The five-time IPL champions started their season with a win but have dipped significantly since, with Jayawardene pointing to the bowling as an area that hasn’t quite clicked. “I don’t think it’s just on Hardik, I think it’s on every one of us when we are not doing well,” Jayawardene said after the seven-wicket loss to Punjab Kings.
A Lack of Clinical Performance
According to Jayawardene, the team’s struggles can be attributed to a lack of clinical performance, with other teams being more effective in their approach. “I know we are playing good cricket. We are not taken out completely, but at the same time the other teams are much better, clinical; obviously the confidence is high as well when they have that kind of start so we just need to control phases that we can control,” he said.
Part of the inconsistency, in Jayawardene’s opinion, has been due to player availability and injury. Rohit Sharma was out of the PBKS match with an injury, while Mitchell Santner missed the match with illness. Hardik Pandya too had been unavailable for the match against DC due to illness.
Bowling Struggles
The team’s struggles with the ball have been particularly striking, with Jasprit Bumrah going wicketless in all five games. Against PBKS, he conceded runs at 10.25. Jayawardene attributed Bumrah’s lack of wickets to the team’s inability to put pressure on the opposition in the powerplay. “They know they don’t need to take too much risk against Bumrah as well, and we have tried a few different things, which he is trying as well, but they are batting well,” he said.
Bumrah has also been bowling at a marginally reduced pace, which Jayawardene attributed to workload. “I think initially because he had a slight niggle… we wanted to build him up, over the last few games his speeds have gone up, we’ve looked at all that, so he’s very comfortable,” he said.
Rohit’s Return
As for Rohit’s return, the approach has been cautious, with the management keen not to rush him back. “On Ro, he started running yesterday, [we’ll take] day to day to see how he feels,” Jayawardene said. “He knows his body better than anybody else so it’s nothing serious but at the same time we don’t want to push and it’s early season still.”
The team will be looking to bounce back from their recent losses and find the spark that has been missing. With Jayawardene’s guidance, they will be working to improve their performance in all departments, particularly bowling, to get back on track.
