Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra on Monday (25th April) talked about Mumbai Indians’ (MI) misfiring batting line-up. He, in particular, was critical of Kieron Pollard’s form with the bat.
Things are getting worse for MI in the ongoing IPL 15. Their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs have almost shattered and they are in desperate need of a win. The Rohit Sharma-led side has suffered eight consecutive losses, with the recent one coming against Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday (24th April).
Not only their bowling, but senior batters in the side in Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard and Ishan Kishan have also let them down. The five-time champions have failed to get a solid opening partnership and Pollard struggling to time the ball has been amongst the biggest set back for them.
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The all-rounder has so far scored just 115 runs at a poor average of 16.43 and strike rate of 127.77, which is well below the standards set by him. In the match against LSG, he had a golden opportunity to win the match for his side but faltered yet again and managed to score just 19 off 20 deliveries.
Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra lashed out at Kieron Pollard for his poor form with the bat. He criticised the former West Indies player by saying that Jaydev Undakat is hitting the ball better than him.
“Kieron Pollard's bat is not striking the ball at all. Whatever he does, he is going at run-a-ball only. Quite a few times, it seems Jaydev Unadkat is hitting more than him. This is the reality where this team is standing," Aakash Chopra said.
Chopra talked about Ishan Kishan’s struggle in the tournament and also was critical of Rohit Sharma’s bad shot in their recent match against LSG.
“Ishan Kishan's bat is not at all hitting the ball. It is worth seeing that a player's confidence can go so low. You are getting tears in your eyes when you see the guy is not able to bat. He was trying and the way he got out, it cannot get worse than that. What was that? Rohit Sharma was playing well, he played a bad shot to get out,” he said.
Chopra further added: “Mumbai were handed their eighth defeat. They are not taking the name of winning, they win the toss as well but still, lose the match. What a leveller this game is. You are five-time champions, however bad you play, however was the auction, whatever you do, it does not happen that you lose all eight matches.”
Agreeing that Mumbai Indians are not as good as they used to be, Chopra said that things are not going right for them and luck is also not on their side.
"You were back at your home ground. You had the support of the crowd but still, a win was far from you. This is incredible what is happening because they are a better team than this. Agree the team is not as good as it used to be in the last few years but luck is also not on their side. I don't know what's happening,” he concluded.
MI will next face Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday (April 30) at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
