IPL 2O22: For A Team To Work It Is Not About Just One Individual – Mahela Jayawardene Defends Rohit Sharma's Batting Form

Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene backed skipper Rohit Sharma over the lack of runs and said the team collectively failed to deliver.

Mumbai Indians lost eight of their nine games in IPL 2022 so far, a bizarre for the cricket fans to watch.

Rohit scored 155 runs in nine innings at an abysmal average of 17.22. The MI captain is yet to score a half-century in this IPL edition with 41 against Delhi Capitals being his highest score.

The Mumbai Indians’ skipper registered an unwanted record of most ducks in the IPL history (14).

Rohit Sharma is disappointed that he has been unable to convert good starts into big ones: Mahela Jayawardene

Jayawardene acknowledged that Rohit failed to convert good starts into big scores but also pointed out the issues with the misfiring lower-middle order.

“Let me answer that in a much fairer way. Yes, as you rightly said Ro (Rohit Sharma) has been brilliant in batting for long periods, getting those big scores consistently and the rest of the guys have batted around him. He knows he had starts and he is disappointed that he has been unable to convert them into big ones,” Jayawardene said in a virtual press conference.

“For a team to work it is not about just one individual, it is about a team executing a game plan. The way we have structured our lineup this season, that is something we have lacked and at the top,” he added.

That is something we have lacked: Mahela Jayawardene on the absence of finishers

Mumbai Indians lost the services of the Pandya brothers because of the reshuffle ahead of the season which left Kieron Pollard as the lone finisher for the team.

Just like Rohit, Pollard is also going through a lean patch with the willow having scored 125 runs in nine innings with a strike rate of 120.19.

Mumbai Indians also lack depth in their batting order this season, something which forced the team management to push Suryakumar Yadav down at No.5 in a few innings.

Jayawardene stressed the lack of finishers in the team while citing the examples of table-toppers Gujarat Titans.

“At the same time, we have not had those finishers at the backend also. It is about getting most of the guys playing good cricket and having that consistency going through. That is something we have lacked,” Jayawardene said.

“You take Gujarat Titans for example this season, you have seen them winning 3-4 games at least from positions from where they were completely outplayed by individual brilliance or finishing games off by either Miller, Tewatia, or even Rashid,” he added.

Mumbai Indians will play against Gujarat Titans in their next match on Friday (May 6) at the Brabourne Stadium.

Also Read: Mahela Jayawardene Reveals First Five Players Of His Dream T20 XI