The five-time champs Mumbai Indians suffered their fourth loss of the Indian Premier League (IPL) against the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. After winning two back-to-back games against RCB and DC, MI were looking to make it three in a row but their winning run was stopped by the defending champs. In the ongoing edition of IPL, Mumbai Indians are placed 7th on the points table with four losses and only two wins. The five-time champs need to change things around quickly if they want to qualify for the playoffs.
3 changes Mumbai Indians should make
Promotion of Tim David
Tim David has batted lower down the order in all the matches he has played so far. His best score in the tournament has been 42 against Sunrisers Hyderabad where Mumbai Indians made 246 in reply of 277. Despite being sent lower down the order; David has been clearing the ropes quite easily and MI should use his good form by promoting him in the batting order.
Better performance from Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya has made some tactical errors while leading MI. In the previous match against CSK, Hardik decided to bowl himself the final over of the innings which was very costly for the five-time IPL champs. Not only that, Hardik seems to be struggling with both bat and the ball in the ongoing IPL 2024. Skipper Pandya needs to step up if MI are to qualify for the playoffs.
Inclusion of Nuwan Thushara
While Bumrah has been very economical and also bagged wickets, the other bowlers have all gone for runs. Bowling at Wankhede Stadium has been a nightmare for bowlers, but Mumbai Indians do have a very familiar weapon to possibly address their fast-bowling concerns in the form of their new Lasith Malinga – Nuwan Thushara, who was a Rs 4.2 Crore buy in last year’s auction. MI should consider including Thushara in the playing XI for the next match.