IPL: Foreign Flops Hurting Mumbai Indians

Four defeats in a row after the heady highs of 2013, when Mumbai Indians won the rare double of the IPL and the Champions League, has put the spotlight on a fickle batting order. Rohit Sharma, Mike Hussey and Corey Anderson look every bit the quality that they're worth, but a closer look will point out that one is retired and doesn't play too much cricket, another has returned from a serious knee injury, while the third has been struggling with form for quite some time in India colours.

You could argue that they have been outplayed in all departments in the four games they've played, but a batting of this quality repeatedly failing has put more pressure on their bowling to either restrict oppositions, or bowl them out cheaply. There is a small matter of MI's star all-round duo of Corey Anderson and Kieron Pollard also not throwing their weight into the fixtures as yet, even though Pollard somewhat redeemed himself with a tidy innings of 33 against Delhi Daredevils.

The opening combination was shuffled against Delhi Daredevils after Hussey's travails at the top of the order. Since retiring from international cricket, Hussey hasn't featured in many team sheets and for a batsman who relies on effortless stroke-play, timing has deserted his game, and he struggled throughout his 18-ball 10 at Sharjah even though he went in at five.

The Australian is of great pedigree, and has repeatedly shown his worth when he was with Chennai Super Kings, but for MI to persist with him may compound their problems at this stage. Ben Dunk, another Australian is warming the bench and the management may want to give the veteran the rest he needs to return to his A-game.

Rohit, on the other hand, continues to baffle with his on-again-off-again form. A one-day double-hundred and several good scores have intertwined with painful ordeals at the crease, all during a period where he has enjoyed some of his best times in an India shirt, a Test century on debut included. He batted at No 4 for his franchise in the first three games, but decided to take the opening slot against DD, not that bad a decision given he opens for India in limited-overs cricket, only to run himself out to a direct hit.

Anderson showed glimpses of his batting prowess after he was promoted to one-drop against Chennai Super Kings, but has struggled on the slow surfaces of UAE. Mumbai Indians have done well to promote him up the order, for making him and Pollard bat at five and six leaves them with little to make a mark with in the end.

The Indian recruits, some of whom played an integral part in their title run a year ago, have come undone with the likes of Aditya Tare and Ambati Rayudu not converting their starts into substantial scores. They form a key part of the MI batting line-up, and even though CM Gautam gave the team solidity against DD, foreign signings living up neither to their name nor their game is alarming.

"Our batting needs to improve. We have tried things like changing the batting order," Rohit said after the loss to DD. "It's not working out at all. Our batters need to step up. Hopefully, we would win a few matches when we go back to Mumbai."

A change in location with the tournament shifting back to India next week may give the franchise the boost they need on home turf. The IPL is a long tournament, but often teams have failed to arrest a slide as poor as four consecutive defeats. Teams often rely on their overseas signings to lift their performances and Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings have benefited from the forms of some of their star signings. Two of them are Glenn Maxwell and Dwayne Smith. How Mumbai Indians would be ruing having let them go to two teams that are leading the points table is anybody's guess.