MI's playoffs rejig: Moody bullish on Bairstow, Asalanka; Jaffer wants more from Tilak

After Mumbai Indians' (MI) batting performance against Punjab Kings (PBKS), the feeling was that their batting did not come together enough to maximise their potential. Openers Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton scored 51 together in 41 balls - a cumulative strike rate of under 125 - while Tilak Varma made one run in four balls later.

Despite Suryakumar Yadav's 39-ball 57, that consolidated his spot at No. 3 on the Orange Cap table, and a handful of cameos, PBKS overcame the target of 187 with ease.

Now, moving into the playoffs, where MI face either Gujarat Titans (GT) or Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Eliminator, they will lose Rickelton and Jacks - two of their key overseas players this season - to national duty. However, that's not entirely a bad thing, according to Tom Moody. He feels the addition of Jonny Bairstow and Charith Asalanka, both temporary replacements, will bring some fresh energy into their batting.

"I don't mind the fact that they've got some fresh players coming in, because it's probably what they need," Moody said on ESPNcricinfo's Time Out show. "In a funny sort of way, it's a way of putting to bed what's happened against PBKS and just moving on quickly. And they've got two very good replacements.

"It's not like MI are at odds to whether to play them or not play them. Bairstow's there. He's an IPL proven player. He's come in with this opportunity in some very good form for Yorkshire. Asalanka has been a good player for Sri Lanka for some time now. He's going to be very handy in that middle order, a good player of spin, can also offer an over of spin or two.

"So I don't think for Mumbai it changes their dynamic much at all. I think, if anything, they look just as good."

Wasim Jaffer, though, thinks Bairstow - coming into the IPL on the back of red-ball cricket in seamer-friendly conditions with Yorkshire - could face some challenges adjusting, and put the onus for making runs in the powerplay on MI's Indian contingent.

"I think the Indian players need to step up," Jaffer said. "You know, you can't expect too much even from Bairstow - he's not had a very outstanding IPL in the last few seasons, and he's coming from a red-ball cricket in seam and swinging conditions in Yorkshire in April and May. So, you know, he hasn't played much white-ball cricket recently. So it could go either way. It's a twin-edged sword. But I think like Rohit, Surya again, Tilak and Naman [Dhir], those are the guys they need to step up in the coming games."

'A chance for Tilak to bat freely'

Tilak has had a tough season where he was retired out once by the management. He followed it up with half-centuries in back-to-back games, but has averaged 10.75 in his last five innings. Even though he came out at No. 4 against PBKS, he has largely batted at No. 5 with Jacks at one-drop and Suryakumar at No. 4.

Jacks' departure, though, opens up one top-order batting position in the MI line-up, and Jaffer believes that can unlock Tilak's potential.

"I think Will Jacks, playing in this MI lineup, he had to bat at No. 3, if not open. And that has affected Tilak Varma's entry point because you can't, you know, send Suryakumar Yadav at No. 5. So that has affected his numbers," Jaffer said. "But once Jacks goes, you automatically see Tilak batting at No. 3, Suryakumar at No. 4 and maybe Asalanka at No. 5. So I think that's going to help.

"But what I liked when he was called out after being retired, the couple of innings that he played after that, you know, showed his mentality because it could have gone the other way around. But he stuck around, played two match-winning knocks. And that says a lot about Tilak Varma.

"I just feel he needs to be a little bit more aggressive against spin. He can do that. We've seen in South Africa when he's got back-to-back hundreds. But he just kind of holds himself [back]. He hasn't played as freely as he does at No. 3. But once the playoff comes and he gets his No. 3 [spot], coming in to bat in the powerplay, you might see a different Tilak Varma."

Moody agreed with Jaffer's proposition: "The obvious change for him is he's probably coming into bat when spin is on. Yes, so that's the challenge to get going straightaway, where in previous seasons, he's probably faced a dozen, if not more, balls against pace. And he's got some sort of rhythm to his game before spinners come on and he can fire straight away."