Mumbai Indians are having a dreadful campaign in the IPL. They are still on the chase for that elusive victory after suffering eight successive defeats. This is also the worst start to a season by a franchise in the league. 

In 2015, Mumbai Indians started off with four straight defeats before staging a remarkable comeback to win the championship title. This season, however, the journey has been plagued by too many issues. Chief among these is the inability to find a balanced combination for their lopsided squad. 

The absence of the Pandya brothers is deeply felt, while the opening duo of Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma hasn’t clicked as a unit yet. Mahela Jayawardene, the head coach, hinted that he might replace Kishan in the next game. 

No team had ever begun their campaign with eight defeats. Previously, Delhi Capitals (2013) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (2019) had lost the first six matches on the trot. In 2012, Deccan Chargers slipped to four straight defeats, and they earned their first point only after persistent rain washed away the game against Kolkata Knight Riders. 

But the record for the worst losing streaks in the tournament belongs to the now-defunct Pune Warriors India. They lost the last nine matches of the IPL 2012, and started the next season with two more defeats. A horror streak of losing 11 successive games was finally broken with a win over Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2013. However, in 2013, Pune again went through losing nine games.

Delhi Capitals is another franchise to lose 11 successive games across two seasons. They finished IPL 2014 with nine games, and had to wait for the third match to taste their first victory in 12 matches.