IPL 2022: Teams are no longer afraid of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, says Ravi Shastri

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri stated that IPL teams are no longer afraid of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

Both of these teams have got off to a horrid start as they have lost their first four matches and are currently at the bottom of the table.

MI and CSK are the most successful franchises in IPL history as they have won the title on five and four occasions respectively. However, they haven’t been at their best in their respective first four matches of the ongoing season. They have failed to come up with a collective team effort and it has led to their downfall.

Both of these teams have disappointed with the bat and they have failed to tick the right boxes. In fact, it has been surprising that both of these teams haven’t been competitive enough.

MI and CSK, like other teams, are playing with new teams after the IPL mega auction and they have failed to hit the ground running.

Ravi Shastri told Star Sports, “What’s disappointing from both those teams is that they’ve been outplayed, you know by a couple of teams. I’ve kept saying it one week into the IPL, that intimidatory factor that was there with Chennai and Mumbai, no longer it’s there, no team is afraid of them. Their aura. No one is afraid of them because of the spread out in the auction.”

“They’ve got their back to the wall, they have to step up to the plate. It’s no point telling the other guys this is the way you should play, you should be doing that job. And it’s not gonna be easy. If you lose 4 on the trot, you mentioned 10 left, not easy at all.”

Shastri reckons other teams can beat MI and CSK and they are not afraid of these teams in the ongoing IPL 2022.

“Other teams believe they can beat them. They don’t look at the name Chennai Super Kings or Mumbai Indians. They’ll go and play the game, they’ll believe they can beat that opposition. As opposed to yes, the years have gone by where they had that aura, that presence, that would intimidate sides. So even if the side had a chance, somehow or the other they would panic, just when they had to cross the finishing line. But this IPL, you won’t see that.”

With 10 matches remaining for CSK and MI in the league stage, it will be an uphill task for these two teams to qualify for the playoffs stages. However, both of these teams are known for their comebacks in the IPL.