After a winning start in this season of IPL, Mumbai Indians have now lost consecutive matches. Former Indian batsman Aakash Chopra has blamed the lack of wickets from MI’s star pacer as one of the main reasons for Mumbai’s struggles at the start of the tournament.
The MI vs RR match was not only a big defeat but also a big learning experience for the five-time IPL champions. He has to accept the fact that his bowling has not been good for some time.
Although Mumbai qualified for Qualifier 2 with the same attack, they added players like Allah Ghazanfar and Shardul Thakur to the attack; A former Indian batsman pointed to Jasprit Bumrah’s weak impact, which has highlighted MI’s bowling struggles.
“It’s been three matches, and he hasn’t taken a single wicket” – Aakash Chopra on Jasprit Bumrah’s lack of impact
Former Indian player Aakash Chopra highlighted Mumbai Indians’ bowling problems after their massive defeat to the Rajasthan Royals batsmen on Tuesday. He blamed star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for the weak performance despite being the most powerful weapon in their attack.
Bumrah took 0/32 in his 3 overs. The cricketer talked about how Bumrah has not been economical, he has given away runs at the rate of 8 runs per over and has not got any wickets after three matches in the season.
During a conversation on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra claimed, “Jasprit Bumrah, it’s a really interesting stat. Jassi has bowled 11 overs in three matches, given 88 runs, his economy is 8.00 and he hasn’t got any wickets.”
“It’s been three matches and he hasn’t taken a single wicket. The economy is acceptable because he bowls in the powerplay and bowls difficult overs in the death overs, but he also got hit in this match,” he said.
Former KKR batsman claims no change in combination can solve MI’s bowling problems
Chopra further said that this has been the situation for most of the Mumbai Indians bowlers. Even the first game they won at the Wankhede Stadium was entirely due to their batsmen, and no credit was given to their bowlers, who conceded 220 runs.
“When you think about others, you realize that Mumbai has a big bowling problem. Deepak Chahar has given away 42 runs in four overs in two matches. His economy is 10.5. Hardik Pandya’s economy is 11.2. Allah Ghazanfar’s economy is 12. Trent Boult also has an economy of 12.”
He further explained that their bowling problems cannot be solved by any change in the combination and hence, MI will need these bowlers to perform better to remain in the race for their sixth IPL title.
“Shardul Thakur, who took three wickets in a match and also dismissed Vaibhav Suryavanshi, his economy is 12.88, almost 13. This is the bowling attack. If you think you will lift the trophy, you have to upgrade this bowling attack because there is no one sitting out with whom you can replace these players. It is not that if you bring in Mitchell Santner or Corbin Bosch things will change.”
“A guy scored 22 runs in the first over alone, and you were 22/3” – Aakash Chopra on thrashing MI batsmen
In the same video, Chopra had given some good beating to the Mumbai Indians batsmen who were out very early while chasing such a big score. MI probably lost the game in the powerplay.
The Royals managed to score almost twice as many runs as the Mumbai batsmen in the powerplay. They were behind by 25+ runs, which became the margin of defeat in the contest.
Taking a dig at the Mumbai batsmen, he said, “If you give away 150 runs in 11 overs, there is no chance of survival and if there was even a slight chance of survival, you were 22/3. One man alone scored 22 runs in the first over and you were 22/3, with Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton and Suryakumar Yadav all out.”
He then praised Rajasthan Royals’ young captain Riyan Parag for rotating the bowlers with good efficiency, while also crediting the RR bowlers for playing their roles well. From Joffra Archer to Sandeep Sharma, every bowler bowled at his best.
Read also:After destroying Jasprit Bumrah, Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s return to India is confirmed!! Irfan Pathan pushed
