Head coach Mahela Jayawardene has indicated that Mumbai Indians might make a few changes in their line-up to arrest the seemingly endless slide that they have endured in the ongoing IPL.
The five-time champions, considered a traditional powerhouse in the IPL, have faced unprecedented failure at this year’s tournament as they have lost all eight matches that they have played so far.
Though Mumbai have flopped as a team overall, it is their batting, which on paper is star-studded, which has hurt them the most.
After going down to Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday, Mahela was asked if they were planning for any changes in the batting unit. The Sri Lankan replied: “Good question. I need to review this and a have a chat with the rest of the coaches as well and make some plans.
“Batting has been a concern for us, especially on good wickets where we have batted under par. This is a senior group who understand the conditions and have performed in the past. We need to keep pushing and if we need to make those changes, we will do that.
“We had few changes (in previous games) but not a lot. We wanted to keep the batting consistent. But obviously there are concerns as we have not been consistent, whether we are batting first or chasing totals down,” he said.
Mahela also admitted that there was concern in particular with Ishan Kishan. The wicketkeeper-batter, who cost Mumbai Rs 15.25 crore at the auction, started the season with two fifties, but has failed with the bat after that.
“He (Ishan) has struggled a bit, we have given him the freedom to play his natural game. I haven’t yet spoken to him, but I will have a conversation with him soon,” he said.