Oh well.. MI, what could one say about such a successful side going into the doldrums after one bad auction?
I completely subscribe to
@wasteyouryouth's conspiracy theory regarding a split in the line of thinking between captain and coach. Mills was used poorly in his first few games and I don't even think he was managed properly with well executed plans when he was given the role of the death overs specialist. Tim David has been completely missing after the Brevis hype. Have him play the role of a DK and he'll thrive which I doubt MI can do given that none of their bowlers barring Unadkat can hold a bat properly. It all seems like the team wasn't quite built for their individual player strengths.
- I did say that Kishan would be the most expensive player at the auction and that he was worth the price given his multiple strengths on paper (can bat anywhere in the top five, destructive versus spin and can go hard from ball one or accelerate in the traditional fashion, can keep and can lead). However, what I did seem to miss is his tendency to either be really good (explosive from the start) or really bad (gets out quickly or wastes too many balls) with not much of an inbetween. This is something that Mumbai would surely have known prior to going all in for him and it must have been something they believed that could have been ironed out in time. Right now, it seems like the price tag is putting all of it's pressure on him. His current situation reminds me of Olivier Giroud's time in the mid 2010s in the Arsenal side where he was terribly out of form, needed a rest to mentally recharge himself and yet had to play simply because Arsenal had no other strikers. This leads to both mental fatigue due to playing multiple games whilst you are out of form and also a strange sense of complacency in that 'well I know you can't drop me, there simply is no one else'. I'd still at least take him out of the firing line and play him at three or four.
- The main culprit for years has been Rohit Sharma's own middling form which I've pointed out earlier multiple times. It was hidden by SKY and Kishan's own splendid form and QdK's arrival later on alongside that formidable middle order they had. It was also pretty obvious that with only one of these still remaining, Rohit would have to step up and carry the burden and if he did not Mumbai would suffer badly. No surprises that the result has been predictable.
- I liked the cut of Brevis in the U-19 WC and did expect him to be a big star in the future but he's already shown that he's very capable which has been a complete surprise (I still expected him to be a bit raw versus top class bowlers). Mumbai cannot and should not rely on him for match-winning knocks though, he's still far away from being mature enough to not throw away his wicket at the most ill opportune times and I dearly hope that they do not coach this flair out of him in the two months they have him. Indian sides have always tried to knock the flair out of their most talented batters to turn them into statistical monsters and it has always come at the cost of their aggression. Brevis would be wise to further learn how to approach situations where a bit of defense and sensible stroke making might be good but this has to come with experience rather than coaching in a haste.
- What Mumbai should expect is for SKY to be their match-winner in the majority of their games. He's an absolute gem of a stroke-player and is arguably the most versatile Indian batsman right now. He is in every sense Mumbai's adult AbD and until baby AB grows up, has to be so. Mumbai would benefit from having him face more deliveries per game as I believe the more he faces, the more are Mumbai's chances of a victory. He was superb as an opener in 2018 with those leg-side flicks and he has improved massively since then in terms of his overall shot making, why not get him back there?
- Pollard is pretty much never being dropped in this season (and possibly the next) so we'll have to include him in this side. I do wish Mumbai give David a few more games in his stead but I think it's unlikely to happen. Tilak Varma on the other hand seems to have a repertoire of shots in his arsenal and a good game sense of when to play them and when not to. If he is supposed to be baby Raina taking on the spinners, it's time for him to be the number three.
- I personally thought Sams served some fine pies today and that he was lucky to nab four wickets. Any other day and he would be up there with Unadkat. However I do think there is some value in him being the 'McClenaghan' type of bowler who is normally expensive but gets you wickets alongside that. He's shown that he can take wickets despite his expensive rate in the BBL. All he does need is two support bowlers who can keep things tight (like a certain Englishman currently in rehab). Unadkat is very similar in profile to Sams and hence having them both in the side seems like a recipe for disaster as at the least one of them will travel the distance. If they both do, your NRR takes a hefty hit. Yet again, we're back to building a squad without truly seeing the individual strengths. Sams can bat better on paper and Unadkat is the domestic option. Honestly, pick your poison at this rate.
- We still haven't talked about options like Sanjay Yadav (a hard hitting all-rounder), Fabian Allen (a hard hitting... all-rounder? Why does Mumbai have two of every role player...) who can be serviceable in the right roles. Not world-class stars but Krunal wasn't one and MI got along fine with him in their XI. And finally.. I don't think Rohit is a bad captain as of yet on the basis of one bad season where he admittedly hasn't made the best use of the tools at his disposal. His main strength is in his player management and adapting to game situations which I don't think is something that you can pick up later on in your career. I feel like the Mumbai hierarchy went into the auction with their same old template of ideas, stuck by it rigidly and when it did not quite work out pushed the panic button in the auction. I'd probably try this playing XI for now until player forms revert back to normal
Rohit
SKY
Varma
Kishan
Brevis
David
Sams/Allen/Yadav
Random Indian Pacer/Meredith
Ashwin/Shokeen
Bumrah
Meredith/Mills
For next season, swap in a world class all-rounder in place of David, let Brevis play a more prominent role in the top four and have Archer in at eight. Get the latest flavour of the month Indian spin bowling all-rounder at seven and sign a good overseas spinner (plenty of them go unsold every season) so that you're not stuck with Ashwin and Markande as your only spinning options.
I guess he probably was part of the CSK nets last year or this year (that's how CSK seems to pick their new buys). I doubt he'll even get a chance this year and next year, Adam Milne will return back. If this boy is good enough, maybe CSK will release Jordan for him next year.
