The Mumbai Indians are five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions. But their recent record in the Indian Premier League suggests those days are long gone. Having last won the IPL trophy in 2020, the Blue and Gold have struggled in the last five editions, securing just one Playoff berth. The management switched captaincy from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya, but to no avail. This year, MI finally ended their opening-match curse, but after slumping to two wins from eight matches, the road ahead looks gloomy and unpromising.
What’s gone wrong? How has a franchise fallen so flat? Virender Sehwag and Murali Kartik got down to discussing the nuances of last night’s game, where MI failed to defend 243 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium. Moreover, the decision to bring Shardul Thakur in as an Impact Player but not give him overs baffles more than anything else, a topic that made things a tad weird between the two former India teammates.
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“Even I didn’t understand,” said Kartik on Cricbuzz about Shardul getting ignored. “Maybe they brought him in as an option, but perhaps they forgot about it or something else. I actually did not understand. Search me. I have the same expression as you.”
Kartik and Sehwag carry on
However, before Kartik could complete, Sehwag, in his natural manner, threw a playful jibe at Kartik, asking the host if he could pass the can of Red Bull to him so that he could spray it on Kartik’s face. This left Kartik visibly awkward, who then questioned Sehwag. “Why don’t you tell me?” As Sehwag explained that Shardul should have been made to bowl since he is a wicket-taking bowler, Kartik reminded him that the question was ‘why’. That’s when even Sehwag did not have an answer. “The answer to that question is with Hardik Pandya.”
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Both quickly moved on, though. The discussion then drifted towards the Mumbai Indians’ performance as a whole, which Sehwag was highly critical of, and right after, Kartik presented another point of view on Shardul. “Shardul played one match and has gone wicketless in only one match, against DC. He picked up three against the KKR and another against the Punjab Kings. So he’s picked at least one wicket every match. He was expensive, but then don’t pick him if that’s what you worry about. That could have been the only reason why he wasn’t allowed to bowl.”
MI face an uphill climb from here. Placed second from bottom, they are in a do-or-die situation, with every defeat potentially spelling the end of the road.