Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has said that the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) bowling attack for IPL 2022 is very weak despite the presence of their key bowler Jasprit Bumrah. According to the veteran, the concern is that there is no quality on the bench as well. Notably, Mumbai faced their third defeat in a row in IPL 2022 as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won by five wickets in Pune on Wednesday. Mumbai were looking to win, having restricted KKR to 83 for 4 while defending a total of 161. However, Pat Cummins smashed an unbeaten 56 off 15, exposing Mumbai’s weakness in the bowling attack.
While speaking after Mumbai’s defeat to Kolkata, Jaffer admitted that things are looking very uncertain for them in the bowling department. Sharing his views during a discussion on ESPNCricinfo, he said: “This is a really weak MI bowling attack in spite of Bumrah. There’s only Jaydev Unadkat to come in. Even on the bench, they don’t have any quality, be it the pace department or the spin bowlers.”
Sharing his views, Australian batter Chris Lynn has also opined that Mumbai might be ruing the decision to pick Jofra Archer at the auction despite knowing that he wouldn’t be available this season. He stated: “Very interesting that you are paying for a guy that isn’t there. You’ve got to be in the moment right now, not look at what the team needs in 12 months’ time. You cannot control what happens. Archer could be injured again next year.”
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However, apart from their bowling, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma’s batting form is also a major concern for them. Against KKR, he took 12 balls to score three and eventually got out off Umesh Yadav. Jaffer, however, admitted that Rohit’s form will definitely a concern for the management as well as the Indian selectors. Earlier, Rohit scored 41 against the Delhi Capitals (DC) and 10 against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) as well.
He elaborated: “Rohit is not looking in best of form. The rhythm is missing. Not just Mumbai, the Indian selectors would be worried that they are not seeing the best of Rohit. Probably Rohit can bat at 3, (Dewald) Brevis can open. They just need that start. With a weak bowling, they need 20 runs extra.”
Meanwhile, Wasim Jaffer also opined on KKR’s performance. He said that although Venkatesh Iyer scored a half-century, he was struggling too. With the match hanging in the 50-50 position, Pat Cummins smashed an unbeaten 56 off 15 balls as Kolkata won within 16 overs. While Pat Cummins smacked four fours and six sixes during his innings, Iyer scored an unbeaten on 50 off 41 balls.
Describing Cummins’ innings as “outstanding,” the former cricketerWasim Jaffer said during a discussion on ESPNCricinfo: “Somebody coming in at No.7 and then playing an innings like that, really outstanding.” He added, “Venkatesh Iyer was finding it hard to time the ball even though he got fifty. If Iyer didn’t have Pat Cummins at the other end, KKR might not have won.”
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Analyzing his approach, Wasim Jaffer said that the pacer backed his big-hitting skills. He came to bat when KKR needed 61 off 41 and he hit Sams for four sixes and two fours in the 16th over and won the game as well.
He added: “He probably felt that the wicket was good enough for him to trust his striking and he hit some big sixes. Once he hit Bumrah (for a couple of boundaries), everything else was pretty easy. He completely finished (Daniel) Sams off in an over. He would have been under a lot of pressure.”
