Ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, nobody would have expected five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) to be the only team without a win half way into the tournament. MI, who have established themselves as one of the strongest T20 teams in world cricket, have failed to get going following a mega auction and have lost eight matches in a row. One of the biggest concerns for MI is the form of opener Ishan Kishan.
The MI owners went deep into their pockets to buy Kishan for 15.25 crores at IPL 2022 mega auction, making him the most expensive buy in the two-day affair held in Bengaluru.
MI batting coach Robin Singh shared his views on Kishan’s form and said the management has had a word with him as he has failed to get going after a good star to the tournament.
“We’ve addressed a few things that we feel that he can improve on. Obviously it’s about getting better during the course of the game,” Robin said during a virtual presser. “As you know, he started very well. But he fell away a little bit.We sort of revisited the entire tournament, we addressed a few things and we’re hoping that he’ll get back the same sort of form that he started with.”
MI are badly missing the likes of Quinton de Kock, Trent Boult and Hardik Pandya – who have done extremely well for their new franchises.
Singh went on to add that while the team had done well in bits and pieces, the unit needs to be consistent for not 20 but all 40 overs in the game.
“It’s very simple. We have not performed as a team, together,” Robin said on the eve of the team’s game against Rajasthan Royals at the DY Patil Stadium. “If you look at most of the games that we have played, we have done well in bits and pieces. This is one format where you need to be consistent whether you bat or you bowl, throughout the game. It’s not about 20overs, it’s the total 40-overs game, and that is something we have not stitched together. We are hoping to do that.
“We have been very, very close. I think the Chennai game was probably the template that we want. Unfortunately, we lost the game, but that’s part of the game, we understand that. The way forward is really to finish on a high. We’ve addressed that. We want to win; most people are geared up to win. We still have the hunger to win, and from a franchise perspective, we want to make sure that we make the franchise proud.”
