What has gone wrong for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022? 

The Mumbai Indians have consistently been one of IPL's most popular teams. The franchise immediately struck a chord due to the presence of the 'God of Cricket' Sachin Tendulkar as their icon player for the inaugural edition in 2008.

The spotlight intensified due to the IPL team being owned by the country's leading industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The spirited involvement of his wife Nita Ambani with the management of the team also helped the side become more prominent.

Some of the biggest names in cricket have sported blue and gold jerseys - Ricky Ponting, Sanath Jayasuriya, Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Anil Kumble, Kieron Pollard, among others.

The franchise is famous for spotting and nurturing high-quality Indian talent. Youngsters like Jasprit Bumrah, Ambati Rayudu, the Pandya brothers, Suryakumar Yadav, and Ishan Kishan have represented the country and become household names after being groomed by the Mumbai Indians.

The Mumbai Indians have won five IPL titles, making them the most successful franchise in IPL history.

The mega-auction prior to this season saw the Mumbai Indians rejig their setup. The expectations from the Rohit Sharma-led side were high. However, the Mumbai Indians slumped to eight consecutive losses to start the season. They are virtually out of the race for the play-offs.

The bowling attack has lacked bite, and the batting order has been inconsistent. Fielders have dropped simple catches and there has been a visible lack of enthusiasm.

A team that is famous for holding their nerve has lost matches this season after having the advantage for a large part of the game. Skipper Rohit Sharma acknowledged that his team was far from its best this year with this tweet on his official handle.

Where have the Mumbai Indians faltered? We can attribute it to an ineffective pre-tournament strategy off the field and poor execution on it. Here is a deeper analysis of what has gone wrong for the Indian Premier League's Boys in Blue.

---

#1. An auction of inflated valuations

Mumbai Indians won the bid for Ishan Kishan for a whopping ₹15.25 Crores, making it the costliest buy in this season's IPL auction and the fourth costliest purchase ever

The Mumbai Indians entered the 2022 auction with a purse of ₹48 crores. Their auction strategy was crystal clear - desperately trying to retain identified MI talent and bidding aggressively for established match-winners in other franchise leagues.

In the process, the MI team management kept splurging money on the players they sought to have. Let's take a look at the performance and cost-effectiveness of their costliest purchases (based on the first nine games of the season).

Batsmen

An illustration of the value-for-money of the batsmen MI picked up up in the auction

After two cracking half-centuries in the first two games of the season, this season's costliest purchase, Ishan Kishan, has scored 90 runs from the next seven games at an abysmal strike rate of 81.08.

Tim David, a cricketer from Singapore who has set T20 franchise leagues ablaze with his power-hitting, has played only three matches for the team despite attracting a bid of ₹8.25 crores.

Dewald Brevis from South Africa, nicknamed 'Baby AB', has displayed his potential but has failed to consolidate on his starts. Tilak Varma, an unknown commodity, has been Mumbai's knight in shining armor, rescuing them in the middle-order after a top-order collapse.

To see the updated IPL standings, click here.

Bowlers

An illustration of the value-for-money of the bowlers MI picked up in the auction.

The Mumbai Indians purchased Jofra Archer for ₹8 Crores. While that may seem like a good purchase, Archer's injury ruled him out of the tournament even before the auction.

Daniel Sams, a superstar in the Big Bash League, has failed to impress but for a solitary 4-wicket haul. He has also been expensive, leaking 10.5 runs per over.

Murugan Ashwin, a like-for-like replacement for Rahul Chahar, has bowled well but has lacked the wicket-taking ability. Tymal Mills, a T20 specialist from England, has a poor economy of 11.2 runs per over.

Jayadev Unadkat's economy of 9.5 runs per over is disappointing as well. Riley Meredith has been their best bowler, but the ceiling of four overseas players doesn't allow MI to play him in every game.

---

#2. A missed retention?

Mumbai Indians retained their skipper Rohit Sharma, fast-bowling sensation Jasprit Bumrah, India's 'Mr. 360' Suryakumar Yadav and West Indian power-hitter Kieron Pollard.

Hardik Pandya was released. He was subsequently appointed the skipper of the Gujarat Titans, who have won eight out of their first nine matches this season.

Pandya has represented Mumbai in 92 games, scoring 1,476 runs at a dazzling strike rate of 153.9. He has also picked up 42 wickets at a decent economy rate of around 9 runs per over.

Pandya's performance for the Titans has been remarkable. He has scored 308 runs in eight matches at a brilliant average of 51.33, complemented by a praiseworthy strike rate of 135.68.

He has not bowled much but has done well whenever the need has arisen. His fitness - an issue that has been plaguing him throughout his career - seems top-notch currently.

MI's fourth retention, Kieron Pollard, has been a maverick for the side. However, he has failed as a finisher this season, managing only 125 runs at a poor strike rate, by his lofty standards, of 120.19.

Furthermore, in the previous season, barring a mind-boggling unbeaten inning of 87 runs against CSK, he scored 245 runs at a strike rate of 148.48. The 34-year-old may not be a long-term option for MI.

Perhaps Pandya was keen to lead the franchise from his home state of Gujarat. But his absence has left a gaping void for the MI team.

---

#3. Heavyweights have severely underperformed

Skipper Rohit Sharma and his deputy Jasprit Bumrah have endured an underwhelming IPL season thus far

We have talked about Kieron Pollard's poor form. Likewise, skipper Rohit Sharma and MI's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah have had no impact this season. Rohit has scored 155 runs in nine innings at an awful average of 17.22.

His failures, compounded by Ishan Kishan's poor returns, have compelled MI's inexperienced middle-order to walk in to bat with immense pressure on their shoulders. The captain conceded that he had not led the team from the front when he said this in a post-match interview after MI's sixth consecutive loss.

"I take full responsibility of not putting the team in the situation they expect of me."

Unsurprisingly, the Mumbai Indians have conceded 9.05 runs per over this season, which is the highest among all teams. They lost powerplay specialist Trent Boult to the Rajasthan Royals, Rahul Chahar to the Punjab Kings, and Krunal Pandya to the Lucknow Super Giants.

The likes of Daniel Sams and Tymal Mills have not had a lot of experience playing in India. Jaydev Unadkat, Murugan Ashwin, and Basil Thampi have bowled good spells occasionally but have leaked runs aplenty way too often.

Even the stoic Jasprit Bumrah, considered by many to be the best T20 bowler currently, has looked burdened by the responsibility of leading this attack. He has picked up five wickets in nine matches at an economy of 7.45. His average of 51.2 is the worst among MI's bowlers.

Bumrah seems to have lost his ability to break partnerships, which was crucial in so many of MI's past wins.

What does the future hold for Mumbai Indians?

Jofra Archer's return to fitness to pair with Bumrah next season will be an intimidating proposition for all the opposing teams

Mumbai Indians have five games left. However, these are virtually dead rubbers. Team management should be looking to offer opportunities to youngsters like Brevis, Tim David, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Sanjay Yadav, and Arjun Tendulkar.

Senior players - Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kieron Pollard - should focus on finding form, particularly with the T20 World Cup approaching soon.

Suryakumar Yadav's Solidity and Verma's consistency are positive developments. Jofra Archer's return to fitness will induce fear within opposition camps.

The Mumbai Indians should also try to strengthen their spin bowling competencies through the mini-auction before IPL 2023. MI could spoil the party for the teams that are making a bid for a position in the top-four this season before dramatically turning things around in IPL 2023.