To be brutally honest, we haven’t played good cricket this season: Jayawardene

Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene conceded that he’s been left ‘disappointed’ by his side’s showing in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, and admitted that his team have not played good cricket all season. With 3 wins in 13 matches, Mumbai are currently bottom of the IPL 2022 table, and the five-time champs, owing to their poor Net Run Rate, are all but guaranteed to finish the season in tenth spot, even if they beat the Delhi Capitals on Saturday.

Speaking on the eve of the Delhi clash, Jayawardene insisted that the Mumbai squad hasn't played to its potential, and rued the side’s inability to win crucial moments in matches.

“Having the quality that we have in the squad, yes, you have to be brutally honest, we haven't played good cricket,” Jayawardene said on the eve of the DC game.

“Like I have said earlier, the intensity, we haven't taken control of crucial moments in certain matches, we had that done (then) we had the confidence to get those four-five wins in a row, where we would be fighting for the play-offs, but it has been that kind of a season and (I am) definitely disappointed."

The five-time champions began the season with eight consecutive losses, and Jayawardene claimed that the side made one too many mistakes in the initial part of their campaign, particularly in the first four games. The 44-year-old said the main concern was the side not handling pressure situations in early stages of the tournament.

“As any season where we start slow, which is a concern for us. The intensity that we played the first four-five games, where we had the opportunity to win matches (but) we didn't execute certain skills, made mistakes, that is something we need to rectify.

“Because getting those early wins always gives team confidence and then you win matches from nowhere that gives you the platform to get into the season and be dominant. So the intensity and execution, handling little pressure situations in those early stages of the tournament that probably was a main concern for us this year,” he elaborated.

“There were quite a few games that we had opportunities to win, usually we do finish those games and this year, we didn't with the bat and ball, where we lost opportunities, so that is something we will speak to the guys and make sure that they are ready for challenges going forward.”

One player who, at the auction, Mumbai invested heavily on was Jofra Archer. MI purchased the speedster knowing he would be unavailable for the 2022 season, but on Thursday the tearaway suffered a fresh back injury that ended up ruling him out of the entirety of the English summer. Despite Archer suffering a plethora of injuries across the past couple of years, Jayawardene is hopeful of the 27-year-old making a full recovery and being fit and available to represent MI in IPL 2023.

“I think to be honest, it is too far ahead. Our team of experts will keep monitoring his (Archer's) progress. He didn't have these injuries in the past, so it is something new.

"Hopefully it is nothing too bad. So we will see how he progresses, but 10 months till next IPL, so there is a lot of time to assess his situation and we are hoping that he makes a strong recovery and he will be available for us next season,” he signed off.

(with PTI inputs)