8-0: Decoding Mumbai Indians' horrible run in IPL 2022

Mumbai Indians have endured a forgetful run in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Rohit Sharma & Co. have suffered eight straight defeats in their first eight games of the season to record the worst start by any team in the history of the competition. Nothing has gone right for the five-time champions, who are yet to get off the mark in the tournament and have been plagued by a number of issues from players not being in form to a lack of balance in the squad. Here is a look at the reasons behind Mumbai Indians' failures in IPL 2022.

The poor form of their openers has been one of the biggest concerns for Mumbai Indians this season. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan are one of the best opening pairs in the league but the duo has simply failed to click so far this season.

While Kishan did impress in the first couple of matches at the start of the season, his form has dwindled as the season progressed. Rohit, on the other hand, has failed to fire and has been far from consistent. Ishan has amassed 199 runs in 8 matches while Rohit has scored 153 runs in as many games.

Mumbai Indians have always relied on a wicket-taking spin option over the years in the IPL. Spinners have played a huge role in their success but this season there is a clear lack of a wicket-taking turner in their squad. MI let go of the likes of Rahul Chahar, Krunal Pandya and Jayant Yadav while failing to replace them adequately.

They invested on Murugan Ashwin and Mayank Markande, who have both failed to make an impact. While Ashwin has been the first-choice spinner managing only 6 wickets in six games, Markande is yet to get a game for his team.

Jasprit Bumrah has been one of the most prolific wicket-takers for Mumbai Ins over the years. The premier pacer has played an instrumental role in his side's success but this season he has been single-handedly carrying the pace attack due to lack of support from the other end.

The likes of Tymal Mills, Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat and Daniel Sams have failed to impress both with the new ball and in the death overs leaving Bumrah alone to shoulder majority of wicket-taking responsibility. MI have also signed Jofra Archer but the England pacer is not available this season.
 

Besides the lack of a quality spinner and a fast bowler, MI have also been missing the presence of Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya lower down the order. The Pandya brothers along with Kieron Pollard had played several match-winning knocks as finishers but there is a lack of a basher down the order for MI this season.

MI's middle-order has failed to close out several run-chases resulting in defeats for the five-time champions.

While Kieron Pollard is more than capable of finishing games on his own, his poor form has not helped Mumbai Indians' cause this season. Like Rohit and Ishan at the top, Pollard has been lacklusture in the middle having amassed only 115 runs in eight matches this season at a poor average of just over 16. Pollard's woeful form with the bat has left MI exposed in the middle-order this season.