Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI) have had a forgettable Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. With only 3 wins from 13 matches, they are reeling at the last spot in the points table. They had crashed out of the season after their 8th consecutive defeat last month.

While there are many reasons behind MI’s below-par form, their batting failures contributed to the team’s downfall. The team management showed immense faith in Tim David during the IPL 2022 mega auction and spent Rs 8.25 crore on him. Come the IPL season, he was dropped after just 2 failures and sat on the bench for over a month before being included in the final XI. As per MI batter Ishan Kishan, it was a good call to drop David.

Responding to a query from NDTV during a presser, Kishan opined that David prepared himself during this time. “IPL is a big stage and the decisions taken by the management are for the betterment of the team. Nothing personal in it. Unfortunately, he (David) was dropped from the team. But if you look at the other way, he prepared himself to play on the Indian wickets. So, being dropped isn’t always bad as it gives the player an opportunity to analyse his game. The comeback he has made and the innings he has played have been mind-blowing. So, it was a good call (to drop David),” he said.

David has scores of 44*, 13, 16* and 46 since his return to the playing XI. He has emerged as a solid batsman and in the previous fixture, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, David almost did the job for MI. The right-handed batsman might not be released and could be given a long run in the next season.