'Their batting in the UAE has just not arrived' - Michael Vaughan feels 'it's difficult' for MI to qualify

Mumbai Indians haven’t had the best IPL season this year around. The team hasn’t got going in the second leg of the IPL as they are currently placed at the seventh position of the points table. Thus, the former England skipper Michael Vaughan feels that it would be difficult for MI to qualify for the playoffs this season.

The Rohit Sharma-led side has had a disappointing outing with the bat in the second half of the tournament so far. This has put the team at the backfoot as every match is a must-win for the team to keep their playoffs hopes alive. MI’s star batters Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have also struggled to make an impact and that has further added to the team’s woes. Vaughan highlighted these aspects and pointed that the team hasn’t played the way it was expected of them.

“It is difficult for Mumbai now because if they beat Rajasthan, then they have to depend on Rajasthan to beat KKR which is probably not going to happen. You never know with Mumbai. They are probably one team that could sneak in. But it’s a long shot. They just haven’t played well. Their batting in the UAE has just not arrived. Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, don’t know where their form has gone. They just haven’t been the team that we all have come to expect,” Vaughan asserted while speaking to Cricbuzz.

MI should absolutely go back to the core team: Michael Vaughan

Saurabh Tiwary replaced Ishan Kishan in the squad for the last two games. The former cricketer however stated that MI should back their core team and that would fancy their chances of making it to the top four. He also pinned his hopes on Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav to get back to form.

“MI should absolutely go back to the core team. You got two chances to still qualify. Just go back to what they know in terms of the batting line-up. Everything that they thought would work for them at the start of the UAE leg go right back to that core. I do see the likes of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav could find form because they are good players. Just stick with that combination,” Michael Vaughan concluded.