Forget Hardik Pandya vs fans, here's all that is wrong with Mumbai Indians

Nothing has gone right for five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians (MI) this season so far. With Hardik Pandya as skipper, MI were expected to scale new heights but things have gone pretty downhill in the first three matches. Not to forget, Hardik Pandya himself has faced criticism for the manner in which he took over captaincy from Rohit Sharma.

Also read | When Mumbai Indians bounced back after losing first three matches of a season

In fact, he has had to face the wrath of the fans , who have repeatedly shown anger with the decision by booing Hardik on several occasions. MI are reeling in tenth place with three losses in as many matches and are the only team yet to secure a victory this season. Having said that, it’s not the only issue plaguing the team. So, what else is? We take a look:

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Absence of Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has been MI’s driving force in previous editions. Looking at how MI have fared batting-wise, it’s pretty evident that the Mark Boucher-coached side are missing one of their key performers in SKY. Suryakumar Yadav, who racked up 605 runs last IPL season, has been out of action since December last year.

SKY led India in a T20I series against South Africa in December, but the 33-year-old twisted his ankle during the third T20I in Johannesburg. As a result, he underwent surgery in January as well to treat sports hernia . SKY was expected to miss the first few matches, but the wait seems to be taking longer than expected.

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The first match against Gujarat Titans (GT) itself is an example. MI failed to chase down 169 in that match and with pressure mounting on the likes of Tim David and Pandya, it was going to be a difficult task. MI dearly missed SKY’s calm and composed character at the time, and had he been there, things could have been different.

No backup for Jasprit Bumrah

MI are missing the services of Jason Behrendorff who has withdrawn from the IPL due to injury and with Jofra Archer having been released , Jasprit Bumrah is lacking a reliable backup option. There’s South Africa’s Gerald Coetzee who can support Bumrah but barring the first game, where he posted figures of 2/27, it’s been a rather unimpressive start for Coetzee in the IPL.

And Kwena Maphaka is still a newbie that it will be early to predict how he turns up in the upcoming matches despite registering figures of 1/23 against RR. That was a stark improvement from his previous game, when he conceded 66 runs against SRH .

More expected from opening pair

Mumbai Indians’ opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan have been pretty underwhelming so far. The manner in which the two got out against RR does not help their case, and if they are to improve their batting, it is paramount that both Rohit and Kishan click as openers and convert those 20s and 30s into big knocks, say 60s or 70s at least.

Rohit can take inspiration from his 29-ball 43 against SRH during a situation when his team needed him the most but for the team’s benefit, both have to fire in unison and get MI off to a fiery, explosive start.

Kishan’s contribution of 34 against SRH was also worthy but when you are chasing a total in excess of 270, you will be left wanting to do more. Often, match pressure has got the better of both Rohit and Kishan when it comes to batting, and the two must look to tackle that immensely, with MI on the back foot early in the season.

Where is Mohammad Nabi?

Having been acquired for Rs 1.50 crore at the IPL player auction last year, Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi is an experienced addition to the MI squad. Except the 39-year-old is yet to make it into the playing XI.

Shams Mulani has been below par across the two matches (against GT and SRH), going wicketless in both games, and was dropped for the game against RR. While there is another experienced spin option in Piyush Chawla, Nabi, an off-break bowler, may not be a bad choice too.

Even if he does only take wickets at intervals, Nabi, the 39-year-old, knows very well how to contain runs and put added pressure on the opposition. Nabi can also add depth to MI’s batting, so having an all-round option who can deliver the goods when needed will only benefit MI going forward.