Indian Premier League 2024

'Could replace Ishan in opening slot' - Fans react as Sachin Tendulkar joins MI camp ahead of blockbuster clash against CSK

Sachin Tendulkar has joined the Mumbai Indians squad ahead of their second match of IPL against CSK on 8th April.

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Rohit Sharma & Sachin Tendulkar

Rohit Sharma & Sachin Tendulkar (Image credit: Twitter)

Rohit Sharma & Sachin Tendulkar Rohit Sharma & Sachin Tendulkar (Image credit: Twitter)

Ahead of their second match in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has joined the Mumbai Indians squad. The five-time champions continued their trend of losing their first match of the season, falling to Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight wickets. They will next face four-time champions Chennai Super Kings in the El Clasico, and fans are excited to see two great cricketers, MS Dhoni and Tendulkar, at the same venue.

After enduring poor outings in the past few years, fans were expecting Mumbai to start the new season on a positive note. However, it was a humiliating performance by the Mumbai batters and bowlers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Meanwhile, fans are hoping that the presence of MI's former captain and current mentor Tendulkar will definitely change the players' mentality and result in their first win on Ssaturday, April 8, when they meet CSK at the Wankhede Stadium.

Tendulkar was seen in the MI kit in a tweet posted by the franchise on its official account on Friday.

Can MI silence their critics this season?

Mumbai Indians are undoubtedly the most successful franchises in the history of IPL, but the former champions have underperformed in the last two seasons, finishing last in the points table last year. Their fate looks similar this time as well, as Rohit Sharma’s side have failed to rectify the problems they faced in previous years.

Observing their clash against RCB, barring youngster Tilak Varma, nobody could play a responsible innings to put a respectable score on the board. They have a lot of power hitters in the squad but most of them are inexperienced and it also makes the squad unbalanced. Defending a modest score of 172, their bowlers also looked clueless against Bangalore’s experienced side.

Pointing these factors, former Australian cricketer Tom Moody feels there are “too many holes” in the MI team and says he doesn’t think they will make it anywhere near the finals of the IPL 2023.

Speaking on ESPN cricinfo, the Australia legend said: “I’m concerned (for Mumbai) because I sort of called it before the start of the ITL that I didn’t think they’d be anywhere near the finals. I just feel there are too many holes amongst their team and I don’t think they’ve got a balance in their squad either. They don’t have the domestic bowling depth and the international bowling depth”, he said.

Here's how fans reacted after Sachin joined the MI camp:

IPL Rohit Sharma Mumbai Indians CSK Sachin Tendulkar