It would be an understatement to say that Mumbai Indians are going through a rough patch. After their three-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings, the five-time Indian Premier League champions inherited the dubious record of worst-start to a season losing seven matches.
The Rohit Sharma-led side only made it worse when they lost their eighth match against the Lucknow Super Giants all but ending their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
So what has gone wrong with the serial winners?
What Is Happening With Mumbai Indians?
What makes the losing run even worse is that MI have been well and truly beaten in almost all of their matches.
| Mumbai Indians | Match Results |
| v Delhi Capitals | DC won by 4 wickets |
| v Rajasthan Royals | RR won by 23 runs |
| v Kolkata Knight Riders | KKR won by 5 wickets |
| v Royal Challengers Bangalore | RCB won by 7 wickets |
| v Punjab Kings | PBKS won by 12 runs |
| v Lucknow Super Giants | LSG won by 18 runs |
| v Chennai Super Kings | CSK won by 3 wickets |
| v Lucknow Super Giants | LSG won by 36 runs |
Barring Suryakumar Yadav and the young Tilak Verma, none of MI's star players have really gotten going this season.
Rohit Sharma is having a tough time with the bat, scoring only 153 runs in 8 matches at an average of 19.12 runs. After slamming 50s in the first two games, Kishan has failed to get going.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Kieron Pollard is yet to have an impact this season and the team lacks another capable lower-order batter to step up when Pollard falters.
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Was It The IPL Auction 2022?
Mumbai Indians made the headlines after bagging Ishan Kishan for a bank-breaking ₹15.25 crores. This heavy investment meant MI had to stop short of going all out for other key squad players.
After losing out on leg-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, MI had to settle for Murugan Ashwin. Chahal is currently the top wicket-taker while Yadav is fourth.
MI gambled by buying England seamer Jofra Archer for ₹8 crores despite knowing that the Englishman's injury would keep him out of the season leaving the side one short of a match-winner.
They also went for Singaporean batsman Tim David for an eye-catching bid of ₹8.25 crores from his base price of ₹40 lakh. But David has only featured twice for Mumbai this season, before being benched after not making the impact. MI missed out on Windies all-rounder Jason Holder who went to LSG for ₹8.25 crore.
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Where Are Mumbai Indians Lacking?
For starters, MI's squad is heavily missing out on an all-rounder. They off-loaded the young Hardik Pandya to retain the ageing Kieron Pollard, a decision which they might be ruing.
A revitalised Pandya has led the Gujarat Titans from the front taking the new franchise to the top of the table having lost only one match out of the total seven.
In contrast, Pollard is yet to make his iconic impact this time.
The bowling line-up, led by Jasprit Bumrah is also struggling for Mumbai this season. The absence of Boult has weakened Mumbai's bowling line-up, according to Kevin Petersen. Bowlers like Murugan Ashwin, Daniel Sams, Tymal Mills and Jaydev Unadkat have picked wickets, but have not been regular starters for Mumbai.
There is also a feeling that MI are yet to figure out their best XI as evidenced by the fact that they are yet to use the same unchanged roster for two consecutive matches.
While there are youngsters like Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Dewald Brewis, Mumbai Indians have got an ageing squad that is missing out on the energy of youngsters, according to Michael Vaughan. An ever-changing, ageing squad list has led to an unstable line-up for the Mumbai side.
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Does This Winless Run Call For A Change In Captaincy?
The likes of Vaughan have already stated that an out-of-form Rohit Sharma should take a break. While he stands as the most successful captain in IPL, leading Mumbai to all the five titles they won, his form with the bat this season has been woeful given his lofty standards. Rohit took over as Mumbai Indians captain from Ricky Ponting after the Australian recorded a win percentage of 50 per cent.
Currently, Rohit's captaincy win percentage stands at 57.04 per cent. While many pundits recommend Rohit take a break from captaincy, there have been many contemporary instances where resigning from captaincy has not been the solution.
Virat Kohli resigned from his Team India captaincy of all three formats of the game, after going through a rough patch. He also resigned as the RCB captain this season, paving the way for Faf du Plessis to lead the team. But despite resigning from captaincy, Kohli's bad spell continues for both India and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Rohit Sharma's experience as a five-time IPL winning captain plays a fundamental role in Mumbai's campaign, being a role model for youngsters to grow and improve their performance.