The Mumbai Indians (MI) have had a poor start to their IPL 2022 campaign, with no victories in their first six games, and are currently at the bottom of the table. Mohammad Azharuddin, a former cricketer, has made comments to the MI team management and reviewed the deficiencies.
When asked what changes MI should do to get back on track, Azharuddin believes the team should give Arjun Tendulkar, who has been performing well, a chance, and that they have been scooping him up in every auction. He also questioned why, after spending so much money on Tim David, he has not been playing and has been dismissed from the squad.
Mohammad Azharuddin on Arjun Tendulkar
MI’s best players, whether it’s Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, or the majority of the rest of the team, haven’t been able to put up the kind of show that they have in the past for the club. Suryakumar Yadav is likely the only player who has wowed fans with his performances, while others are still trying to find their best form.
Many people believe that MI hasn’t gotten its fair share of luck this season. Arjun, according to Azharuddin, may provide Mumbai the kind of luck they’ve been lacking this season. Azharuddin was also perplexed by MI’s failure to provide enough opportunity for their INR 8.25 crore acquisition of Tim David.
“You have to try some new players, like you can give a chance to Arjun as well, who has been doing well, maybe Tendulkar name on the field can bring them good luck. If you have picked David for such a high price, and if he is not playing, there is no use of him being in the squad. If you have players, you just can’t make them sit along, that will be injustice to the player as well. If the things are not happening, they can try different players, as most of the teams have not played them, and the team can succeed,” Azharuddin said.
Azharuddin believes the squad did well in the auction to secure the services of great batsmen, but that their bowling has remained inadequate. He believes that the squad should not place too much burden on bowler Jasprit Bumrah. He went on to argue that Bumrah should bowl an opening over to give MI a better opportunity of scooping up wickets in the powerplay.
“They have packed their batting, but have left a void in the bowling unit. They are over-dependent on Bumrah, but you can not put so much pressure on him, he is also a human. Sometimes he can go for runs as well. They can try him in the 1st over itself, because if he comes in the 2nd or 3rd over, the batters have settled down a bit and can go for maybe 20 off two overs, and it can have a big impact,” Azharuddin added.
