WHAT'S GOING WRONG?

>>> Leadership transitions at MI and KKR have failed to inspire confidence. >>> Senior players are struggling for form at crucial moments. >>> Tactical rigidity in a format demanding constant reinvention. >>> Over-reliance on reputation rather than performance.

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The story for MI, in the last few seasons, is not about Rohit Sharma.

For reasons best known to the top-heavy management of the Mumbai Indians, bringing in Hardik Pandya as captain has not worked. If, in the first season, his move from the Gujarat Titans to MI as captain was met with fierce backlash from diehard fans, nothing has changed. Results for the Mumbai Indians, a side loaded with big names, have been pathetic this summer. Into the third week, what one has seen from this former champion outfit is insipid stuff.

To blame one man for the abject failure of MI is wrong. Yet, as a leader, Hardik Pandya knows he has done nothing inspirational. The same man who put his heart and soul into India in the T20 World Cup, including India's latest triumph in Ahmedabad, looks lost. Whether factors beyond the boundary, where his personal life comes into focus, are disturbing him is being debated. As a professional, leading MI is an honour, a matter of pride. If Hardik Pandya has been lacklustre, what other superstars in the same Mumbai side have done, or not done, is also enigmatic.

For a side boasting Rohit Sharma, off-colour speed king Jasprit Bumrah, Tilak Varma, and Suryakumar Yadav, the prosaic performances in the IPL this year hurt. How a side with so many talented players can get the script wrong will be dealt with later by the team management. As of now, to see the Wankhede Stadium resemble a star parade, where in the stands you see film stars and celebrities, may look good. But the real deal is that the team has not performed. The fire is missing, and Surya comes under scrutiny for plenty of other reasons as well.