The most successful team in the IPL will be coming into the tournament on a high note after winning the last season and claiming the IPL title for a record 4th time. Rohit Sharma and Co. very well organised going into the tournament. The franchise has not made many changes to the winning combination with the only blow being the unavailability of veteran pacer Lasith Malinga.
The Mumbai Indians were very active at the auctions where they looked into rope and hard-hitting batsman and lead pacer. The franchise did do a commendable job by recruiting the hard-hitting Australian opener Chris Lynn and experienced pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Probable playing Xl for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020:
Rohit Sharma (C), Quinton de Kock, Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Dhawal Kulkarni/Nathan Coulter-Nile, Trent Boult
Openers (Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock)
The opening pair can be said to an extent is fixed for the Mumbai team as both the players- Rohit Sharma and Quinton de kock have been in great touch and also have contributed a lot of runs at the top for the franchise. The skipper is one of the leading run-scorers in IPL but did not have a great season in 2019 given his standards. The 33-year old will look to play the long innings which he does with regularity for the Indian team.
The proteas opener will look to replicate the same performance he showcased in the last season where he scored more than 500 runs at the top order at a pacy strike-rate too. The Wicket-keeper will surely be covering all the matches as no International duty has been assigned.
Middle Order (Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard)
The Australian was one of the biggest buys in the auctions given that he is currently in a spectacular form. Given that Mumbai Indians will be looking to make full use of his hard-hitting ability and we never know he could even open the innings with Quinton de Kock coming one down the order. Though the restrictions of only four foreign players may lead to him sitting out a few matches.
The 29-year old Suryakumar is turning out to be a valuable asset for the Mumbai Indians. Initially started out as a slogger and showed he could play some long and consistent innings too. There is no doubt he could anchor the innings for Mumbai Indians.
Kieron Pollard- the man that has won Mumbai Indians uncountable matches and he does not have the word give up in his dictionary. The 33- year old has been a consistent performer for the Mumbai team and is currently playing in the Caribbean Premier League, where the West Indian is showcasing some high profile cricketing skills combined with brilliant captaincy. Apart from tearing apart the opposition team with the bat, the all-rounder also bowls some valuable overs combined with his athletic fielding turns out to be a match-winner more than often.
All-rounders (Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya)
The Pandya brothers have cemented their place in the MI side with some excellent performances over the years. Hardik Pandya has been dominating the opposition team both at domestic and International level and is already compared to many of the greatest all-rounders Indian has had. His brother Krunal too has been spelling some magic with his bowling. The 29-year old off-spinner has been the go-to bowler for Rohit Sharma when it comes to breaking partnerships.
Hardik Pandya is surely one of the Top 5 players to watch out for this season. The 26-year old is returning from an injury. His comeback was dented as the series of South Africa was called off due to the ongoing pandemic.
It will surely be entertaining to see the Pandya brothers take on the opposition and Mumbai Indians would be unstoppable if brothers get going.
Bowlers ( Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Dhawal Kulkarni/Nathan Coulter-Nile, Trent Boult)
Mumbai Indians are packed with some World class bowlers with the likes of Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult. Bumrah has been dominating the batsmen with his pin-point yorkers and is almost unplayable in the last death overs. Both Bumrah and Boult could set a very high standard with their bowling and there is no doubt both of them can keep the opposition batsmen under check.
The 20-year old Rahul Chahar who made his debut for Mumbai Indians in 2019 was really quick to grab his opportunities and showed great maturity by picking up 13 wickets and maintained a very good economy throughout the tournament. He will be the lead spinner along with Krunal Pandya and will have a lot of responsibility in containing the batsmen which he is given his potential is capable of.
Dhawal Kulkarni is an experienced contender in the line-up and is known good for getting some early breakthroughs with his great inswinging deliveries. The 31- year old will surely play a vital role for MI given that there is only one other Indian pacer in the team. Coulter-Nile could also make it to the playing Xl if the management decides to play an Indian batsman in place of the two foreign top-order batsmen.
Cover Credits: CircleofCricket
