A distraught Rohit Sharma took "full responsibility" for Mumbai Indians' dismal IPL season after they lost its sixth consecutive match, saying he is at his wits end to understand what course correction is needed to get them back on track.
Skipper Rohit has himself endured a nightmare of a tournament, managing only 114 runs from six games and a highest score of 41.
"If I know what's going wrong, I'd correct it but it's not coming off. I'm trying to prepare myself in the way I prepare for every game, that is no different. It's not coming off," Rohit said after MI lost to Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday.
"I take the full responsibility of not putting the team in the situation of what they expect from me. I back myself to go out there and enjoy the game and doing what I have been doing all these years.
"It's important to keep looking forward. It's not the end of the world, we have come back before and we will try and come back again," the skipper tried to put up a brave face but the disappointment was all too palpable.
He was asked about the logic behind not starting with the team's No 1 bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, and the skipper defended his strategy.
"There's no particular reason to it," Rohit replied when asked why he brought Bumrah in the fourth over.
"We try and put team before the individual (Bumrah). They (LSG) bat quite deep and it is important to hold your key bowlers towards the back end. We always try and keep Bumrah for the back end and it didn't seem to work out," he reasoned.
He had no option but to admit that the bowling has left a lot to be desired.
"He bowled pretty well but the others just need to pull up their socks a little bit. Every game we play is an opportunity, we try and think what our best playing XI which is best suited for the particular conditions and particular team."
Decoding the defeats will be key for Rohit.
"We lost six games now, we are trying to understand what our right combination is, but it all depends on the opposition that we play. When you lose games it is very easy to point out that changes are being made but we try and go with our best XI."
He praised opposite number and team India deputy KL Rahul for a fine batting show that has put Mumbai Indians almost out of the IPL.
"I think KL batted brilliantly, that is something missing from our team, wanted someone in our top four to bat as long as possible, which is not happening. Don't want to look too much into it. We haven't won a game yet but we need to keep our heads high," he added.
