Disappointing, that unfortunately will be the lingering feeling as the 2024 season draws curtains for the Mumbai Indians. Head Coach, Mark Boucher, in an emotional chat with the media in the post-match press conference on Friday (May 18), looked back and spoke his heart on a number of challenges the team faced over the last two months. Excerpts.. 

Summing up the season

Yeah, it's disappointing. After our auction, we identified our bowlers as something we wanted to strengthen, and we felt that we did that. At the beginning of the season, losing two players wasn't great for us, but we still had some great options. So yeah, on paper, I thought we'd do much better than we've done. We just haven't managed to combine our batting and bowling in one single match. One has always let the other down, which is unfortunate.

On Rohit Sharma’s form through the season

It's almost a season of two halves for him. He started the season well and hit the ball sweetly in the nets. He got a superb 100 against CSK as well. So we honestly thought he was on a great path for us to go out there and get some good runs.

Unfortunately, it's just the nature of T20 as well. He went out there trying to be aggressive, the new way of playing as an opening batter. He got a few low scores, which unfortunately didn't help us in that particular situation either. But tonight, he finished off with a fantastic knock as well. So yeah, it is a season of two halves for him.

On MI’s poor winning percentage between 2022-24

This is a cause for concern, and it is certainly something that we need to address as a franchise. I'm sure we will. Mumbai Indians is a very successful franchise for a reason. When you see trends like that, then you sit down, and you evaluate every season. You do a review, and if there are trends that are happening each year, then you do have to sit down and make some changes and make some big calls, which I know for a fact that we're okay with doing.

Thoughts on areas to address for the team

Now is not the right time. Everyone is very disappointed and emotional. So, no good decision will be made in the nearest time, which is now in a week. We need to go back, evaluate exactly what's going on, and improve things, whether on the field or off the field. We've got some great heads within the management team as well. We'll sit down and find a way to improve the players' ability to play the sort of cricket we know they can, which was under par this season.

So, many things were happening, with many moving parts this season, which wasn't great to be a part of at certain times. But, yeah, we'll have to sit down and address certain things.

Ultimately, this is a professional unit, and players, staff, and everyone alike are judged on the performance they put on the field. If something is happening off the field that is hampering that, then we need to address it.

On Hardik Pandya’s form and captaincy

Even Hardik would've been disappointed with his performance. From a captain's perspective, he had some excellent games.

There's a lot of stuff going around him that clouds his thoughts now and again, which is also challenging for him as a leader. He certainly had a lot of support within our dressing room, and guys are trying to help him out, but it is tricky to go through as a player. It is what it is, and it will undoubtedly be a learning curve for him with his leadership growth. While times are tough now, some things will pass, and he'll be a tougher leader. So, some fantastic things are coming for Hardik Pandya as a leader.

He came into the season with little cricket behind him, so it would always be reasonably tough on him. We understood that as well. His bowling got a lot better as the season went along. Unfortunately, he didn't fire with the bat this season. He showed glimpses of what he can do.

With regards to my stuff, I'm not too sure where I'm going, to be honest. As I said, it's early days at the moment. A lot of people are emotional. There's probably going to be discussions about all of us. I don't think there's only one person. We're in a high-performance zone, and when you underperform, you need to get looked at.

So, the only thing I can do as a coach is give my best, precisely what I've done. I've got no regrets about what I've done here. Could I have done things better? We'll sit down and evaluate that, as we do with all the players as well.

Looking into the future now for MI

Everything's been about cricket at the moment. So, going forward, Hardik is the guy that the franchise would like to take forward. But we'll wait and see. We'll have these conversations at a later stage. Many people would like to have an emotional statement from me. So there can be headlines in the newspapers, all that stuff. I'm not giving it to you because I think everyone deserves a chance to settle down, cool down, get emotions aside, and make some good cricketing calls for Mumbai Indians. That's where we're at the moment.

Am I upset? Absolutely. I don't like losing. I don't like having a season like we just had. I'm sure the owners are feeling the same. I'm sure the players are feeling the same. I'm sure the captain is, as well. So yeah, emotions are running high at the moment. We just need to settle down and make some good cricketing calls along the way. First, though, we need a bit of time for this to settle.

His technical analysis of Hardik’s batting

I think from a cricketing perspective when Hardik was playing for Mumbai Indians, he was a finisher. He was playing that sort of role with Polly (Kieron Pollard). He then went to Titans, and he's batting in a completely different scenario.

So, there were slight technical adjustments that he had to make to his game to face a newer ball and the different lengths that you face when you're facing a new ball. He made himself aware of that as well. It was a work in progress throughout the whole season, trying to get him back to the new role he was playing now, more as a finisher or batting in the back end of innings.

He's evolving as a cricketer. So I think that once he gets that hitting power back and the position, and getting used to that again and the different scenarios in the game, I think he'll be a very well-rounded player, able to play both games because of the experience that he's had in different positions.