IPL 2024: Michael Clarke believes Mumbai Indians' camp is divided, says they are not performing as a team
Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke suggests that the Mumbai Indians' camp is currently divided into groups, which is impeding the players from working together effectively.
FollowFormer Australia captain Michael Clarke believes that winning major tournaments depends more on teamwork than individual brilliance. Amidst the ongoing IPL 2024, he suggests that the Mumbai Indians' camp is currently divided into groups, which is impeding the players from working together effectively.
The Mumbai Indians faced a sudden change in captaincy during the pre-season, with Rohit Sharma being replaced by Hardik Pandya. This unexpected shift seems to have caused disarray within the team, leading to their decline. To qualify for the playoffs, the five-time champions now need to win all five of their remaining matches.
"Yeah, I don't know (they will make it to the playoffs). I think it's wishful thinking for Mumbai this entire IPL," Clarke said on Star Sports Cricket Live.
"I think there's a lot more going on than what we are seeing on the outside and you can't have that many good players and perform this inconsistently. So, I think there are different groups inside that changing room and something is not working, they are not gelling together, they are not playing as a team," the Australian added.
Despite possessing proven match winners such as Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Tim David, and Jasprit Bumrah, the Mumbai Indians have struggled to secure victories this season, suffering six losses out of nine outings.
Their limited success, with three wins so far, can be credited to the outstanding performances of pacer Bumrah and the powerful hitting of Romario Shepherd.
"Individual brilliance can get them over the line, if Rohit Sharma comes in and gets another hundred or Hardik does something with the bat or Bumrah bowls like a genius again, you never know," Clarke said.
"I think to win big tournaments you need to be a team and not just have individual performances and unfortunately they haven't played well as a team so I hope they turn it around, but I can't see them winning this game," he added.
MI, currently occupying the penultimate spot on the points table, are scheduled to face the Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday in Lucknow.
