Mumbai and Delhi are the two teams with weakened bowling line-ups: Ravi Shastri

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 has begun with fans being entertained with some hard fought matches among the ten teams. With 17 matches completed, the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Gujarat Titans (GT), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) have captured the top half. However, some teams like Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are languishing at the bottom of the table with no victories yet.

Meanwhile, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has conducted an analysis and has come to a verdict that Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have the least effective bowling unit. Shastri emphasized on the fact that the absence of Kiwi pacer Trent Boult and the Pandya brothers have somewhat weakened the bowling line-up of the five time champions.

Senior pacer, Jasprit Bumrah has also looked off-colour so far. Similarly, the Delhi Capitals are also missing the services of express pacer Kagiso Rabada, who is now playing for the Punjab Kings.

It’s a double-edged sword: Ravi Shastri

“Two teams that have a weakened bowling department would be Mumbai and Delhi. I wouldn’t say Gujarat aren’t a strong team. They have enough good players there. But if you look at what Mumbai were or Delhi were, hence the comparison,” Shastri told ESPNCricinfo. “Delhi had Rabada and Nortje. Mumbai had Krunal and Hardik, add Boult there and Bumrah is twice the bowler then, it’s a double-edged sword then. That side now is feeling the heat because it lacks that firepower to push and Delhi are feeling it to an extent now,” he added.

Shastri also talked about the struggle of defending champions CSK, who are yet to open their account in the points table. He emphasized on the fact that the Yellow Army top-order has failed. “Even Chennai to an extent. They had too much experience, by 12 months or 8 months down the line you need some youth. You need some exuberance of youth there,” he explained.