'Things changed here': Piyush Chawla Talks About MI's Debacle Amid Rohit Sharma-Hardik Pandya Issue

Mumbai Indians, with five IPL titles, are one of the best teams in the history of the cash-rich league and hence it was surprising to see them become the first team to be out of the playoff race. Most blamed the appointment of Hardik Pandya as the captain of the side as the reason as it was evident he did not get along well with Rohit Sharma. But, was that the real reason behind their premature ouster? Veteran India cricketer Piyush Chawla, who was part of the MI franchise in 2024, explains what led to the debacle. 

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What Piyush Chawla Said

As per Chawla, T20 is all about momentum and because MI did not get that - they kept losing games. 

"Well, I won't say anything went wrong. T20 is all about momentum, and we did not get that. It happens sometimes. KKR had momentum, but we did not get it. It is not like one particular player was at fault. When you don't get that momentum, things change here and there. So because of that, I think we kind of lost our way. On paper, we were one of the strongest teams. Looking at that, anyone would wonder how this team came to number 10," Chawla said in an interview with the Two Sloggers YouTube channel.

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Chawla reckons luck played a massive role in the downfall of MI in IPL 2024. 

"It was not particularly due to a player's fault. Luck was also two to three feet away from us. Those shots, which would have gone for six on any given day, went into the fielder's hands. When we bowled, those half-chances would go for a six," Chawla explained.

MI last won an IPL title back in 2021. Over the past three seasons, they have failed to even make the playoff. 

Come 2025, MI will look to bounce back to winning ways.