NEW DELHI: Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians were formally eliminated from the playoff race on Wednesday as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) destroyed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Some of the team's senior players have reportedly voiced their displeasure with Hardik Pandya's style of leadership, citing the team's declining morale throughout the IPL season.
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IPL ORANGE CAPIPL PURPLE CAPIPL POINTS TABLE
After a defeat, senior players like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav convened a meeting where they discussed what they felt was the fundamental issue. Separate meetings were also held to identify the issue, according to an Indian Express article.
After a decade of leading the Mumbai Indians under Rohit Sharma, the arrival of a new captain into a pre-existing hierarchy is sure to cause friction in the locker room.
An official from Mumbai Indians ascribed the team's difficulties this season to their current state of change. "When a team's leadership changes, these are typical teething issues. This is a common occurrence in sports", the report quoted the official as stating.
After MI's loss against the Delhi Capitals, Pandya expressed his opinion that Tilak Varma should have targeted Axar Patel more and attributed the defeat to a lack of game knowledge. The fact that Varma was the team's highest scorer this season and had a fantastic inning, scoring 63 runs off of 32 deliveries, did not sit well with the squad after this specific occurrence.
Mumbai Indians have played one more game than the Gujarat Titans and are presently ranked ninth in the points table. The franchise is now out of the race of playoffs, thus it is crucial for the management to work out any kinks in time for the upcoming season in order to increase the team's chances of capturing their sixth IPL championship.
(With IANS inputs)
