Jayawardene rules out making too many changes, backs seniors to come good

Mumbai, Apr 8: Mumbai Indians have lost four of their five matches so far in the Indian Premier League, but head coach Mahela Jayawardene has ruled out making too many changes in the playing eleven, saying he would back the senior players to come good.

MI lost by 12 runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru here on Monday. In the process, RCB snapped their six-match winless streak at the Wankhede Stadium.

While Jasprit Bumrah was tidy in his comeback spell, former skipper Rohit Sharma (17) flopped again, and even Suryakumar Yadav struggled during his 26-ball knock for 28 runs in a stiff chase.

“Not really,” Jayawardene replied when asked if the defeats would lead to changes in MI’s playing XI.

“The results (may) not (be) going (our way), but at the same time you can agree that we are playing some good cricket as well,” he said after a pause.

“I still back the senior pros and all the guys I put out there; they have the skill. It's just that we need to be a bit more ruthless, and at times we're missing out on those one or two overs where we lose our discipline. That's with the bat as well, so that's something that we need to rectify,” he said.

Jayawardene said bringing in fresh faces into the eighth-placed MI might also not be the right approach.

“Losing is not a great thing. You start doubting yourself, and sometimes a fresh face coming into this kind of situation – it might be even tougher for that (player) as well without the experience,” he said.

“The guys who have the experience, they know to handle tough situations and be mentally stronger going forward. That's something that we will bank on,” he said.

Jayawardene acknowledged that powerplay performance has been a concern for the five-time winners whose top order, including Rohit, has been unable to fire.

“Rather than (taking) names, powerplay is a concern for us with the ball and the bat. (In) the last few games we were leaking too many runs with the ball in the powerplay, (and) we’re not getting the starts and losing wickets, especially in Wankhede (Stadium),” he said.

He backed Rohit, who has had scores of 0, 8, 13 and 17 so far, to fight his way through the challenges, especially against left-arm pace. Rohit was dismissed by a left-armer — Yash Dayal — for the second time this season.

“For right-handed batsmen, facing left-arm pace bowling is a natural thing. It's been there for many years. I can remember Wasim Akram doing the same thing for many years; it's just a natural angle and then creating that space,” he said.

“I'm sure Ro (Rohit) has been working on it; he’s been practising hard, and he's a very experienced player. I'm sure that's not the thing (that Rohit struggles against left-arm pace); he was trying to give us a good start, and he played some really good shots.

“Yash bowled a good ball; it was late swing and fuller, and he got through Ro’s defence. When you have played the game for that long, you need to sometimes give credit to the bowlers as well. I wouldn't read into that too much, but it's something that I'm sure Ro will work hard on,” he added.

Jayawardene said MI are not playing the “best cricket” that they could play.

“With the talent that we have, we know (that) we are always in the game. We know that we just need to be patient, and most of the guys are match winners; it's just that we are not getting that tempo going consistently,” he said.

“When Hardik (Pandya) walked in to bat, the conversation I had with him was to try and see whether he could get three big overs in, and that's what he delivered, and the momentum changed. Tilak (Varma) started going as well, so we were close but not good enough.

“The emotions were great for a while, but we have to be realistic that we're not playing the best cricket that we could play,” he said.

Jayawardene also expressed his satisfaction with Tilak's response with a 29-ball 56 after being retired out against Lucknow Super Giants.

“I have a lot of faith in the Tilak’s ability. That day, he just couldn't get going, and it was a tactical call I made. I needed two hits from someone else, and we tried that.

"But today I backed him to bat, and he delivered, and he will continue to deliver for us, so the class is always going to be there,” he said.