Since the inception of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians (MI) have been a team whose core has more or less remained the same. In fact, until the mega auction in January, one of the only three players who have played for the same franchise in all 10 seasons was from Mumbai: Harbhajan Singh. So their decision to retain Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah came as a no-brainer. They also used the 'Right-to-match' card to retain the services of Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard. With these five players again featuring in their side, Mumbai have a formidable side this season.
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma and Co. train at the Wankhede stadium. Image courtesy: Twitter @Mipaltan
Some of the big names that were bought by the franchise in the auction were Evin Lewis, the explosive West Indian all-rounder who has smashed two T20I centuries (both against India), Mustafizur Rahman, who played an instrumental role in Sunrisers Hyderabad's triumphant season in 2016, and Pat Cummins. The addition of local players like Siddhesh Lad, who has had a fantastic domestic season, Aditya Tare and Suryakumar Yadav, who recently captained Triumph Knights to the Mumbai T20 league title, has further bolstered the MI squad.
On paper, the defending champions start as one of the favourites. They have three excellent openers in Rohit, Ishan Kishan and Lewis. Rohit has usually batted in the middle-order for Mumbai, citing the reason that the middle order needs an experienced hand if a few wickets fall early. But this year, the Pandya brothers with Pollard and Suryakumar will form the middle-order. Along with experience, this batting line-up also boasts of maturity and a lot of firepower. Though he chose not to reveal his batting position, there is a strong possibility that Rohit might end up opening.
"I would like to keep it (my batting position) as a surprise. Our middle-order is strong, we have got great openers in Evin Lewis and Ishan Kishan. You will see on 7 April (when Mumbai lock horns with Chennai Super Kings in the season opener) where I bat," said Rohit in the pre-season press conference.
With Mustafizur, Cummins and Mitchell McClenaghan, who came in as a replacement for Jason Behrendorff, Mumbai's pace department looks settled. But it is crucial for the team management to handle Bumrah's workload as he is the only quality Indian pacer they have. Other than Bumrah, the only two Indian pacers in the squad are Pradeep Sangwan and MD Nidheesh. While Sangwan has the experience and Nidheesh promises to be an exciting prospect, an injury to Bumrah would leave them vulnerable.
Having had a successful tour of South Africa, Bumrah must be riding high on confidence and will spearhead the bowling department. Though he was also at the forefront in the 2017 season, the Gujarat pacer still had the option of falling back on his mentor Malinga's experience whenever needed. This year though provides a different opportunity to him. Will he be able to handle the pressure?
"Bums (Bumrah), I don't know whether he understands the word pressure, so I am quite happy to have him," MI coach Mahela Jayawardene said in the pre-tournament press conference. "He is comfortable with the role that he plays for us as well as for India. But what we tend to do is to try and take that pressure away from him. Obviously, last year, we had Mali (Malinga) and a few others. But we bought Fizz (Mustafizur), Mitch (McClenaghan) and a few others to support him," he added.
Another factor which makes Mumbai one of the most successful sides in the history of IPL is the balance they have had over the years. Even this year, thanks to the Pandya brothers, Rohit will have the luxury of six bowlers, which essentially means that he can always afford to go to someone else if a bowler has an off day.
The Wankhede track traditionally slows down as the tournament progresses and the role of spinners gradually increases. Harbhajan Singh's career trajectory might be on the downfall in the last couple of years, but season after season, the off-spinner has put in consistent and frugal performances for MI. This year, Mumbai's most experienced spinner in the league is Krunal. Rahul Chahar, an 18-year old who narrowly missed out on making the cut for the Under-19 World Cup, Anukul Roy, who was part of the U-19 World Cup winning squad, and Akila Dananjaya, who kept India on the tenterhooks when they toured Sri Lanka last year, are the other three spinners in the squad. But it's safe to say that there is a lack of quality as far as the spin department is concerned.
Even tracks in Chennai and Kolkata are likely to assist spin, given that CSK and KKR have a lot of excellent spin options. So the sooner MI come up with a plan to counter their dearth of spin bowling resources, ideally in the mid-season transfer window, the better it will be for their chances in the tournament.
The two players who could potentially be the X-factors for Mumbai this year are Hardik and Ishan. Hardik's rise since the 2015 IPL has been unparalleled, and ideally, MI should back him to bat at No 4 or 5. His bowling in the South Africa series was also impressive. The figures might suggest otherwise but his bowling has started to improve.
Ishan, on the other hand, was bought for Rs 6.20 crore which kind of gives an indication how highly MI rate him. The Jharkhand southpaw has a penchant for pace bowling and is extremely strong on the leg-side. His numbers in the Syed Mushtaq Ali were also brilliant; 273 runs at an average of 34.12 and impressive strike-rate of 145.98. And in his most recent match at the Wankhede (even though it was a charity game), Ishan slammed a century off 42 balls. His knock featured a lot of audacious shots and breathtaking strokeplay. The only question is whether he will be able to shrug off the load of expectations and play his natural game.
There were a lot of smiles and congratulatory handshakes when MI used the 'right-to match' card to buy Krunal for Rs 8.80 crore because he was the final piece in their jigsaw. They have the required ammunition in their arsenal this season, now it all comes down to producing that magic on the field... again.
Since the inception of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians (MI) have been a team whose core has more or less remained the same. In fact, until the mega auction in January, one of the only three players who have played for the same franchise in all 10 seasons was from Mumbai: Harbhajan Singh. So their decision to retain Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah came as a no-brainer. They also used the 'Right-to-match' card to retain the services of Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard. With these five players again featuring in their side, Mumbai have a formidable side this season.
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma and Co. train at the Wankhede stadium. Image courtesy: Twitter @Mipaltan
Some of the big names that were bought by the franchise in the auction were Evin Lewis, the explosive West Indian all-rounder who has smashed two T20I centuries (both against India), Mustafizur Rahman, who played an instrumental role in Sunrisers Hyderabad's triumphant season in 2016, and Pat Cummins. The addition of local players like Siddhesh Lad, who has had a fantastic domestic season, Aditya Tare and Suryakumar Yadav, who recently captained Triumph Knights to the Mumbai T20 league title, has further bolstered the MI squad.
On paper, the defending champions start as one of the favourites. They have three excellent openers in Rohit, Ishan Kishan and Lewis. Rohit has usually batted in the middle-order for Mumbai, citing the reason that the middle order needs an experienced hand if a few wickets fall early. But this year, the Pandya brothers with Pollard and Suryakumar will form the middle-order. Along with experience, this batting line-up also boasts of maturity and a lot of firepower. Though he chose not to reveal his batting position, there is a strong possibility that Rohit might end up opening.
"I would like to keep it (my batting position) as a surprise. Our middle-order is strong, we have got great openers in Evin Lewis and Ishan Kishan. You will see on 7 April (when Mumbai lock horns with Chennai Super Kings in the season opener) where I bat," said Rohit in the pre-season press conference.
With Mustafizur, Cummins and Mitchell McClenaghan, who came in as a replacement for Jason Behrendorff, Mumbai's pace department looks settled. But it is crucial for the team management to handle Bumrah's workload as he is the only quality Indian pacer they have. Other than Bumrah, the only two Indian pacers in the squad are Pradeep Sangwan and MD Nidheesh. While Sangwan has the experience and Nidheesh promises to be an exciting prospect, an injury to Bumrah would leave them vulnerable.
Having had a successful tour of South Africa, Bumrah must be riding high on confidence and will spearhead the bowling department. Though he was also at the forefront in the 2017 season, the Gujarat pacer still had the option of falling back on his mentor Malinga's experience whenever needed. This year though provides a different opportunity to him. Will he be able to handle the pressure?
"Bums (Bumrah), I don't know whether he understands the word pressure, so I am quite happy to have him," MI coach Mahela Jayawardene said in the pre-tournament press conference. "He is comfortable with the role that he plays for us as well as for India. But what we tend to do is to try and take that pressure away from him. Obviously, last year, we had Mali (Malinga) and a few others. But we bought Fizz (Mustafizur), Mitch (McClenaghan) and a few others to support him," he added.
Another factor which makes Mumbai one of the most successful sides in the history of IPL is the balance they have had over the years. Even this year, thanks to the Pandya brothers, Rohit will have the luxury of six bowlers, which essentially means that he can always afford to go to someone else if a bowler has an off day.
The Wankhede track traditionally slows down as the tournament progresses and the role of spinners gradually increases. Harbhajan Singh's career trajectory might be on the downfall in the last couple of years, but season after season, the off-spinner has put in consistent and frugal performances for MI. This year, Mumbai's most experienced spinner in the league is Krunal. Rahul Chahar, an 18-year old who narrowly missed out on making the cut for the Under-19 World Cup, Anukul Roy, who was part of the U-19 World Cup winning squad, and Akila Dananjaya, who kept India on the tenterhooks when they toured Sri Lanka last year, are the other three spinners in the squad. But it's safe to say that there is a lack of quality as far as the spin department is concerned.
Even tracks in Chennai and Kolkata are likely to assist spin, given that CSK and KKR have a lot of excellent spin options. So the sooner MI come up with a plan to counter their dearth of spin bowling resources, ideally in the mid-season transfer window, the better it will be for their chances in the tournament.
The two players who could potentially be the X-factors for Mumbai this year are Hardik and Ishan. Hardik's rise since the 2015 IPL has been unparalleled, and ideally, MI should back him to bat at No 4 or 5. His bowling in the South Africa series was also impressive. The figures might suggest otherwise but his bowling has started to improve.
Ishan, on the other hand, was bought for Rs 6.20 crore which kind of gives an indication how highly MI rate him. The Jharkhand southpaw has a penchant for pace bowling and is extremely strong on the leg-side. His numbers in the Syed Mushtaq Ali were also brilliant; 273 runs at an average of 34.12 and impressive strike-rate of 145.98. And in his most recent match at the Wankhede (even though it was a charity game), Ishan slammed a century off 42 balls. His knock featured a lot of audacious shots and breathtaking strokeplay. The only question is whether he will be able to shrug off the load of expectations and play his natural game.
There were a lot of smiles and congratulatory handshakes when MI used the 'right-to match' card to buy Krunal for Rs 8.80 crore because he was the final piece in their jigsaw. They have the required ammunition in their arsenal this season, now it all comes down to producing that magic on the field... again.
Squad: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Pat Cummins, Ben Cutting, Akila Dananjaya, JP Duminy, Ishan Kishan, Siddhesh Lad, Evin Lewis, Sharad Lumba, Mayank Markhande, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mohsin Khan, Mustafizur Rahman, MD Nidheesh, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Anukul Roy, Pradeep Sangwan, Tajinder Singh, Aditya Tare, Saurabh Tiwary, Suryakumar Yadav.
Published Date:April 07, 2018
| Updated Date: April 07, 2018
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