MI vs LSG: Ambati Rayudu sensationally blames 'individual powerhouses' and 'selfish motives' for Mumbai Indians' IPL 2024 failure

Former Mumbai Indians cricketer Ambati Rayudu made a massive claim on the Hardik Pandya-led side's poor campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He stated that the team needs to make sure that they channel everything in one direction as in the ongoing season there were many talks related to individuals. 

Mumbai Indians had one of their horrible campaigns in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Despite having a star-studded lineup, the Hardik Pandya-led side was the first team to be eliminated from the tournament. They weren't up to the mark with their performances as they failed to win even games that were in their grasp. 

The captaincy shift from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya didn't seem to be working in their favor as there were reports which claimed that the team didn't gell well. This was because many didn't welcome the way India's captain was sacked as skipper of the franchise. 

Ahead of the season, Mumbai Indians traded Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans and then in a social media post announced him as the captain of the team. There were reports that players barring overseas cricketers still looked up to Rohit Sharma and they didn't like Hardik's style of coaching. 

As a result of that, Mumbai Indians didn't have a great campaign in the league. They were one of the favorites to win the title when the league started. However, it was a major disappointment for them as they managed just 4 wins from the 13 games that they played. 

Ambati Rayudu highlighted that Mumbai Indians have always focused on the team but this time around there were a lot of individual powerhouses. He believes that the team lacked a direction which was the reason behind poor performance. Speaking to the Times Now, he explained: 

"To answer that question, I feel Mumbai has always been a set-up where the team always came first. Individuals were always part of a team and part of a set-up called the Mumbai Indians, Even Sachin (Tendulkar) Paaji used to feel one part of a team. Right now, I just feel there are too many individual powerhouses on the side. There is not one intent or direction to take. Whenever that happens in any team, the team struggles." 

Ambati Rayudu further added that this season everyone was talking about different things related to Mumbai Indians but no one focused on the team. He added: 

"If your priority is for your team, right from management to your captain to your players, your individual aspirations and selfish motives take a backseat. This year, from the start of the season, everybody was talking about everything else except the Mumbai Indians as a team."

They need to channel everything in one direction - Ambati Rayudu on Mumbai Indians 

Ambati Rayudu further added that Mumbai Indians need to focus on one direction going ahead and claimed that even though someone is not willing to do that they need to get rid of them. He explained: 

"This is one area they need to work on going forward. They need to channel everything in one direction. If someone is not coming on board, however difficult that might be, you need to get rid of them and get players who always want to play for the team. Going forward, I am sure they want to build a team where everyone wants to play for the team instead of their selfish motives." 

Mumbai Indians will be playing their last game against Lucknow Super Giants. The match will be played on Friday (17th May) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.