IPL 2022: Mahela Jayawardene hints changes in team setup after MI's horrific run this season

Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene is open to making changes after the continuous struggles for the franchise this season. The Rohit Sharma-led side has lost eight games on a trot and is languishing at the bottom of the points table. They are officially out of the race for a spot in the playoffs after the loss to Lucknow Super Giants last night (April 24).

Despite the failures, Mumbai has been reluctant to make changes in the batting department and it has proved to be costly game after game. The opening pair of Rohit and Ishan Kishan haven’t clicked at all while Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma haven’t played the match-winning innings despite being among the runs. The bowling has come good in the last two games, but they will be looking to give chances to different people now after the results so far.

I need to have a chat with the rest of the coaches as well and make some plans: Mahela Jayawardene

Jayawardene was questioned about the potential changes that could be made and he responded by stating that it might happen after consultation with the other coaches. He noted the concerns over batting so far and mentioned the seniority in the group which will need time to excel. He admitted that Mumbai Indians have been inconsistent with their batting efforts but was willing to keep continuing with them.

“Good question. I need to review this and 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 that understands the conditions and performed in the past. We need to keep pushing and if we need to make those changes we will do that,” Jayawardene was quoted as saying by NDTV Sports.

“We have had a few changes (up till now) but not a lot. We wanted to keep the batting consistent. Obviously, there are concerns as we have not been consistent whether we are batting first or chasing totals down,” he added.