Mumbai’s Wrecked Squad needs a change ?
The team, Mumbai Indians, currently is in its worst phase ever, as it has never underperformed at this level. With eight consecutive losses in eight matches, the five-time champion and the most successful team of the tournament, Mumbai Indians, have been knocked out of the playoffs race in IPL 2022.
Mahela Jayawardene : Will he be sacked ?The former champions are still to register their first victory of the season so far. Many criticise the team management for their squad selection, and some experts are also suggesting a change in the squad for the next season. While the captain is being questioned, the head coach Mahela Jayawardene is also being scrutinised for the team's consistently poor performance in the season.
Will Mahela Jayawardene be removed from the position?
Even though the team is languishing at the bottom of the points table, one cannot neglect the team's success in the tournament. The team had made some comebacks after many failures throughout the league, which determined the team's capability to bounce back. Head coach Mahela Jayawardene has been the team's head coach since 2017. The former Sri Lankan batsman has been coaching the team for the last five years and has helped the franchise clinch three titles. In his very first year as the team's coach, Mumbai Indians had been crowned champions. This brought massive fame to Jayawardene as a coach. Since then, the team has been performing quite brilliantly with the support of Jayawardene. The team then conquered the title in 2019 and 2020. But this season, the team is undoubtedly not in their form and having its worst season in the tournament's history. However, the team's chances of replacing the coach are pretty low as the coach had been exceptional in the previous seasons. Just one lousy season cannot justify his skills as a coach. He has been outstanding for the team since he joined the franchise. Looking at all the aspects and Jayawardene's reputation for the team, it is significantly less likely that the franchise will drop the former Sri Lankan from the position for next season.
Is there any significant change required in the squad next year?
After the mega auction this year, the Mumbai Indians team was considered one of the tough competitors. However, with their low performance in the season till now, the team has disappointed many. The major setback that the team is facing this year is a lack of middle-order performance and a disappointing start from the openers. When the key players such as Kieron Pollard and Rohit Sharma are underperforming, the team is missing the Pandya brothers in their line-upline-up. The two always rescued the team whenever Rohit or Pollard failed in the earlier seasons. With the two missing from the squad this season, the team's middle-order has collapsed drastically. Dewald Brevis, the young South African batsman, was looked up to as a boost to the team's middle-order; however, he disappointed the management with his below-par performance due to his lack of experience. The team also spent big money on opener Ishan Kishan to get him back to the team. However, the opener has failed to justify his price apart from two matches, which is now a big concern for the team.
"Good question. I need to review this and have a chat with the rest of the coaches and make some plans," said Mahela Jayawardene when asked about potential changes in the batting line-up in the future.
"Batting has been a concern for us, especially on good wickets where we have batted under par. This senior group understands the conditions and performed in the past. We need to keep pushing, and if we need to make those changes, we will do that. "We had few changes (up till now) but not a lot. We wanted to keep the batting consistent. We have not been consistent whether we are batting first or chasing totals down," he further added.
The team surely needs a strong batting line-up for the next season. Mumbai Indians need someone along with Suryakumar to take charge of the team's batting line-up when Rohit or Pollard fails. The team needs a trustworthy power hitter who can play the role of the Pandya brothers to balance the team's line-up. Along with this, the team also needed to reconsider Ishan Kishan's position for the heavy price. Apart from these, there are a few minor errors that the team made this season. The team will need to look after those for the next season.