Mumbai Indians lack desi punch

Twenty20 cricket is proving to be a cruel format for Mumbai Indians to adapt.

Mumbai Indians lack desi punch

Can there be bigger names in international cricket than Tendulkar, Jayasuriya, Duminy, Zaheer,u00a0 Malinga and Harbhajan? But, the Indian Premier League is a tournament where the strength of your local talent is equally important. This is where MI fall short as they lie at the seventh spot in the 2009 Indian Premier League.

Kings XI Punjab's Brett Lee celebrates after scoring the winning run against Deccan Chargers in their 2009 Indian Premier League cricket match at Kimberley, South Africa on Saturday. PICS/AP

Players like Shadab Jakati, Mithun Manhas, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat Bhatia and T Suman have been a revelation for their teams, while apart from Abhishek Nayar, not a single local player has really stood out for MI.

It is the format of the game where a street-smart cricketer is a better bet than a technically correct one. It is actually a format tailor-made for Mumbai's cheeky players, hence the surprise at the lack of depth in this side.u00a0

LONE RANGER: Abhishek Nayar

It's about scanning the Parels, Shivaji Parks, Vasais and Virars for the seasoned local players, who may not necessarily be technically good for first-class cricket, but who are clean hitters of the ball with unflappable temperament. It's difficult to be convinced that Mumbai doesn't produce street-smart cricketers anymore.

Instead of choosing players directly on the basis of speed in the nets or their batting performances in the Ranji Trophy, try out a couple of selection trial tournaments and the results could be startling.

Apart from making big calculations in the auction room to get the balance right, you need someone in the support staff who is in touch with Mumbai's local cricket.u00a0 Two words are often used to describe a successful Mumbai cricketer khadoos and chalu. There are many with these two qualities, but they are not well known.

The onus is on Mumbai Indians to identify them.u00a0 Meanwhile, Mumbai can only hope for the best against Bangalore here today.

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