Mumbai have been unlucky

First, they went and gave themselves the most unimaginative name possible: Mumbai Indians; then, they picked up an even cornier tagline: Duniya hila ke rakh denge.
As if that was not enough, they handed over the captaincy to Harbhajan Singh. If the bigwigs in Reliance do not wake up at least now, and show their famed brinkmanship, they might soon have to start buying helmets to hide their faces. The first thing they can do is hilao the entire team itself.
Frankly, however, it is not too surprising to see them wallowing at the bottom of the slippery ladder. If you discount Team Jaipur, they had assembled the worst combination among the eight teams in fray: they neither had the right balance nor even an iota of chutzpah.
Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock are, no doubt, two of the finest cricketers around; the only problem is they have been around for too long a time. They can still win matches on their own steam but they surely can’t do it consistently anymore.
In a format like the IPL, that should have been the buzzword. Worse, if you want to think a little ahead, of what value will they be a year or two hence? They are both professionals and will ensure they remain fit and sharp enough. But can we really expect them to make a difference in the future?
Mumbai Indians’ second biggest buy, not counting Sachin Tendulkar, was Harbhajan. One wonders whose idea it was to shell out close to 9 lakh dollars for a mercurial spinner, that too for a Twenty20 tournament.
Their other foreign purchases too are very interesting, to say the least. Ashwell Prince has played exactly one T20 game before this; Aussie imports Dominic Thornley and Luke Ronchi are not exactly wizards at this game either. Dilhara Fernando can be a handful though.
To be fair, though, they haven’t really enjoyed great luck so far. Tendulkar is still nursing his groin and nobody knows when he can be up and running again. That itself is a huge psychological and cricketing setback to the team.
Their best buy was perhaps Lasith Malinga. The slinging fast bowler, however, pulled up with an injury, leaving the team way short on firepower. Dwayne Bravo can make an impact but sending a jet for an untested Ashish Nehra is another gem that only Tendulkar can explain.
The good news, however, is that the star performers of the first two rounds are on their way back home. The departure of the Australians and Kiwis is going to badly hurt the leaders: Team Chennai. Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils, Team Hyderabad and Mohali are also going to be affected. Only Team Jaipur and the Mumbai Indians will not feel the pinch. They will continue to remain as strong or as weak as they have been so far. The MIs have quite a few local players: that means at least their hearts are in the right place.
The question is: can these boys rise to the occasion. On the larger canvas, this exodus will also mean a huge test for the IPL. Without so many mega stars, will the crowds continue to come to the stadia? Will they be excited about watching local players? Or will the fizz go out of the competition?
(The piece was written before Mumbai Indians’ match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday night)