It has been a challenging period for five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians without regular skipper Hardik Pandya, but the game moves on, all-rounder Corbin Bosch said on Wednesday. A narrow loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur on Sunday knocked Mumbai Indians out of playoff contention this season, with Pandya missing the match due to a back spasm. The clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru was the third group-stage game Pandya missed this season, having also sat out the away fixture against Delhi Capitals and the home game against Lucknow Super Giants.
"It's obviously been tough. Hardik is not only a leader but a fantastic cricketer as well. We've missed his presence when it comes to the on-field stuff," Bosch told reporters on the eve of MI's contest against Punjab Kings.
"I'm sure the people who are making decisions and the people who are looking after him are trying to do the best for him and for the team itself.
"It has been tricky but at the same time the game does move forward and we still need to play cricket, so it's one of those things," Bosch added.
Suryakumar Yadav has stepped in on all three occasions when Pandya was unavailable, and the India T20I skipper could lead the side for a fourth time this season here on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians are languishing in the second-last spot in the 10-team points table, and all-rounder Bosch said the team's struggles this season stem from their inability to put together a complete performance.
"We just have not put together a complete game. One day it's been the bowlers who would do well and the batters struggle a little bit, or the next day the batters do well and the bowlers struggle," he said.
"The key moments in the game, which this team is known for winning, we just haven't done that this year. Maybe dropping crucial chances at crucial stages of the game that have swung the game in the opposite direction. It's a multitude of things, but at the same time, going into each game, we make sure that we leave no stone unturned," Bosch added.
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings assistant bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves said the side remains focused on cricketing matters and is not distracted by the noise around the team.
Punjab Kings, last year's finalists, have attracted attention on social media because of the off-field conduct of some of their players.
"Yes, today social media plays a big role, and the news in the media plays a big role. How the big players handle themselves against all these things is absolutely important," Gonsalves said when asked how the team is handling the talk on social media and criticism of the squad.
Gonsalves said such matters cannot be taught to players.
"You don't need anyone to teach them, first of all. They are big enough. They know how to control themselves. As far as we are concerned, we are more concerned about the cricketing part," he said.
"Any blogger or any person can go and put up anything on social media, and there are lakhs of people agreeing to it and saying yes or no. But, frankly speaking, we are not too concerned about what social media says. At present, we are only concerned and worried about tomorrow's game and how we are moving forward in the cricketing part," he added.
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