Mumbai Indians: Is all well with the five-time champions again?

Is it all well now at the Mumbai Indians camp after the divided house it was last year? The retention list of the five-time champions suggests they are on the right track as they have got their Indian core back on board on Thursday and more importantly, veteran Rohit Sharma has been convinced to stay back in his comfort zone.    

‘’Thrilled to be part of Mumbai Indians again,’’ said the ‘Hitman,’ a politically correct statement which the MI management and his legion of fans wanted to hear. It hasn’t been a well kept secret that the 37-year-old had decided on throwing himself up for auction after being unceremoniously removed from the captaincy last year. However, it seems a pragmatic call on Rohit’s part at the twilight of his career to stay back for possibly his last IPL cycle rather than be associated with an under-achieving franchise just for the money.

 A Mumbaikar to the core, Rohit told the MI media:  “I’m thrilled to be part of Mumbai Indians again. I played so much cricket here. This is the place where I have started my cricket career. So this city is very, very special and I am happy to be here.”

A fractionally less price tag to skipper Hardik Pandya or Jasprit Bumrah would be of no concequence to Rohit, the T20 World Cup winning captain, who was taken on board this time to work on the retention policy. The five Indian stars retained ahead of the auction are: Bumrah (Rs 18 crores), Suryakumar Yadav (Rs 16.4 cr), Hardik Pandya (Rs 16.4 cr), Rohit (Rs 16.3 cr) and Tilak Verma (Rs 8 cr).

 It won’t be a surprise if Rohit is also seen on the auction table, tentatively scheduled later in November in Saudi Arabia. The other factor which has ostensibly influenced his decision to stay back is the return of Mahela Jayawardene as the head coach. The chemistry between the Lankan legend and Rohit, who had combined for two of the latter’s five MI crowns, is well known as Mahela gave a peek into the role played by his erstwhile captain in planning ahead.

 Making it clear that the management would like to adopt a more inclusive decision-making strategy for the coming season, Mahela said: ‘’We had extensive discussions. I think the four senior guys (Rohit, Hardik, Bumrah and Surya) led those discussions. Obviously, what happened last season as well as how we collectively move forward. I think that was crucial for us to align in that right direction.

‘’So coaching staff, owners, management, and these four guys, I mean, the direction came from them, what needs to be done, how it needs to go about. So, but that’s the leadership as well. I know Hardik’s being appointed captain. Ro led the retention part and everyone agreed that Boom’s, you know, being the best bowler in the world and he’s been very consistent. And we need to recognize that at the top. And then he wanted the other young Indians to be recognized and it was his call. So, all in all, it was brilliant to see that, you know, them leading that conversation and agreeing to everything. So it was quite easy for us,’’ said Mahela, who was brought to take over the IPL team’s responsibility after being promoted as the Global Head of Cricket while Mark Boucher was sacked.  

 Asked about his approach to spearhead the resurgence of the heavyweights, who finished at the bottom of the table last time, Mahela said: I think it’s a little bit of a balancing act. I think at an IPL level, it’s more about managing the expectations of those guys as well. I mean, they need to be freed up, they will have different roles to play within the group and allowing them to do that.’’