IPL 2020: Mumbai Indians' strongest possible lineup

Overhauling of squads, formulation of cores and a sprinkling of some breath-taking talent – months of cogitation finally came to fruition at the IPL Auction 2020, which culminated in Kolkata some time back.

All the franchises have their squads locked in heading into the upcoming edition of the annual extravaganza.

As always, the theme of the auction were stratagems, an element of surprise with a splash of intrigue – relatively unascertained entities fetched some huge sums, whereas interest from multiple teams in a certain profile created an absolute frenzy, driving up the eventual price of the players to an astronomical amount.

From a Mumbai Indians perspective, the auction was pretty good and they have covered all bases going into the 2020 edition of the IPL.

With these acquisitions, Mumbai’s roster has undoubtedly become one of the strongest, and it’s going to be extremely important for the management to strike the perfect balance whilst zeroing-in on the starting eleven that’ll take to the field at the Wankhede Stadium.

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Openers

De Kock in action for Mumbai.

Chris Lynn

The latest addition to Mumbai Indian’s starting eleven this season, Chris Lynn will be expected to slot straight into the team and open the innings alongside Quinton de Kock.

A little reshuffling which would see Rohit Sharma drop down to number three and Suryakumar Yadav come into bat at number four will make Mumbai’s batting lineup even stronger.

The explosive Australian was purchased by Mumbai for his base price of ₹2 crores and represents great value for money, at least on paper. He’s played 41 IPL games, scoring 1280 runs and at a brilliant strike rate of 140.65.

Quinton de Kock

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Quinton de Kock was one of Mumbai Indians’ most integral figures in their title-winning campaign last time around.

In typical fashion, the swashbuckling southpaw ensured that Mumbai got off to flying starts and built the base off of which big-hitters like Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard could capitalise.

De Kock’s wide array of strokes coupled with his ability to smash the ball out of the park at will make for a terrifying cocktail for any opposition. The wicket-keeper managed to amass 529 runs at an average of 35.26, whilst maintaining a strike rate of 132.91 last season.

He is expected to open the innings alongside Chris Lynn in the 2020 edition of the tournament and will be hoping to replicate the solid form he displayed throughout the entirety of last season’s league winning campaign.

Upper Middle Order

Suryakumar Yadav was brilliant for Mumbai last term.

Rohit Sharma

The 2019 edition of the IPL culminated in Rohit Sharma lifting his fourth IPL title as a player and third as the captain of the Mumbai Indians, and the supremely talented right-hander also experienced an uptick in fortunes in terms of the batting numbers he registered last season.

Sharma was extremely disappointing with the bat in the 2017 and 2018 campaigns in the IPL; he scored 333 runs and 286 runs at an average of 23.78 and 23.83 respectively. In the 2019 season though, the Indian opener was able to claw back and register slightly better numbers – he scored 405 runs at an average of 28.92.

If Mumbai are to go all the way this year too and retain their IPL crown, they’ll need their captain to be firing on all cylinders and put in some box-office performances at the top of the order – something which he has done only in bits and bobs over the past few seasons.

Suryakumar Yadav

Mumbai Indians’ second-highest run-getter after Quinton de Kock in the 2019 edition, Suryakumar Yadav acts as the spine of the team’s top order, putting in consistent performances game after game and ensuring that he sticks around long enough before the power hitters come in and start launching the ball into the stands.

Contrary to the 2018 season where he primarily played as an opener and managed to score 512 runs at an average of 36.57, Yadav was Mumbai’s designated number three option last term.

Scoring 424 runs at a strike rate of 130.86, Yadav beautifully coalesced technique with precision and put in consistent displays throughout the course of the campaign.

This season, he’ll be expected to slot into the number four position and be a dependable figure who chips in with vital contributions in every game.

Kieron Pollard

The 2019 edition of the IPL was a season of resurrection of sorts for Kieron Pollard. After enduring a horrendous 2018 campaign wherein he scored a piddling 133 runs at a shambolic average of 19, it was brave on the Mumbai management’s part to continue trusting the 32-year-old West Indian.

For his part, Pollard managed to repay the faith invested in him in splendid fashion and proved to be Mumbai’s talisman last season, digging them out of precarious situations umpteen times. Pollard scored 279 runs last season at an average of 34.87, whilst maintaining an incredible strike rate of 156.74.

Fans at the Wankhede Stadium got to witness fireworks which emanated as a result of the ball meeting the middle of Pollard’s bat and disappearing in the night sky on many occasions last season, and they’ll be hoping for more of the same this time around.

Lower middle-order

Rahul Chahar enjoyed a breakout season in the 2019 edition of the IPL

Hardik Pandya

The 2019 edition of the IPL was when Hardik Pandya replaced reckless abandon in his game with precision-laden destruction.

Placing himself deep in the crease, the flamboyant all-rounder made sure that every full-pitched delivery in the death overs was dispatched high up in the stands (remember the monster six against RCB at the Chinnaswamy?)

His numbers from last season are a story in itself – Pandya scored 404 runs at an average of 44.66 whilst maintaining a devastating strike rate of 191.42, and picked up 14 wickets at an economy of 9.7 runs per over.

Coming into his own in the last five overs of every game, he made sure that every bowler felt the wrath of the lusty blows he dealt with consummate ease.

Pandya will hope to reduce his expensive economy rate this season whilst continuing the deadly form he showed with the bat last term.

Krunal Pandya

Over the years, Krunal Pandya has managed to come in clutch for the Mumbai Indians whenever they’ve needed a big break desperately in games.

Be it a short but explosive cameo with the bat at the end of an innings or a crucial wicket to dismiss a set batsman, the elder Pandya has managed to stamp his authority on games with decisive contributions at crucial junctures.

His contributions with the ball as a spin-bowling all-rounder have been invaluable – Pandya managed to claim 12 scalps last season at an extremely impressive economy rate of 7.28. With the bat though, the story is a bit different, and maybe a bit concerning if you’re a Mumbai Indians supporter.

Last season, Pandya managed to score a paltry 183 runs at a disappointing average of 16.63. In the 2017 edition, the situation wasn’t encouraging either – he scored 228 runs at an average of 22.80.

This gradual decline in his performances with the bat will be a cause of concern for Mahela Jayawardene, and it is of utmost importance that Pandya improves his batting output in the upcoming campaign.

Rahul Chahar

One of the finds of the 2019 edition of the IPL, Rahul Chahar became another exponent of Mumbai’s famed policy of backing Indian youth, and experienced a breakout campaign in the blue of Mumbai Indians and took the league by storm.

The 20-year-old bamboozled batsmen with his majestic leg-spin and the fact that he was an unknown entity worked in his favour as well. Chahar was a vital cog in Mumbai’s bowling jigsaw and chipped in with 13 wickets, at a miserly economy rate of 6.55.

Chahar became an invaluable asset for captain Rohit Sharma last season, and his emergence as the teams premier spinner has been fascinating to watch. The Mumbai think-tank and fans alike will be hoping that he can continue where he left off last season and enjoy another terrific campaign.

Tail Enders

Mumbai's talismanic quickie scalped 19 wickets last season.

Lasith Malinga

There were quite a few fans who were pretty sceptical when Mumbai Indians decided to spend ₹2 crores on Lasith Malinga in last season’s auction, and with good reason.

Initially, the move reeked of being motivated by emotion rather than pure cricketing logic, but what ensued during the season vindicated the Mumbai think-tank’s faith in the legendary Sri Lankan pacer.

Although he proved to be a bit expensive with an economy of 9.76, Malinga continued picking up crucial wickets – he took 16 in total - with the most important one coming in the final against the Chennai Super Kings.

He’s expected to be a part of the bowling furniture this time around as well, and his presence in and around the dressing room and the nets will be hugely beneficial to the rest of the pacers.

Dhawal Kulkarni

One might look at this trade and feel as though Dhawal Kulkarni was brought in to simply make up the numbers in the Indian pace contingent, but a deeper look suggests that this particular move might prove to be a piece of tactical brilliance by the Mumbai Indians.

Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah are Mumbai’s designated death-over specialists and do not necessarily bowl a lot in the powerplay overs. Kulkarni, on the other hand, is known to be a canny operator with the new ball, and his ability to swing the shiny new Kookaburra early on in the innings makes him a brilliant option for Rohit Sharma.

This, in turn, will enable Malinga and Bumrah to have enough overs in the bank to bowl at the death.

Jasprit Bumrah

This one is an absolute no-brainer – you simply cannot compile any sort of XI for Mumbai Indians or the Indian cricket team without Jasprit Bumrah in it. A discovery of former Mumbai Indians coach John Wright, Bumrah’s rise to the zenith of the cricketing world has been riveting.

Last season too, Bumrah was in his element, chipping in with wickets and pulling the game back in Mumbai’s favour when it seemed like they were losing their grip on a tie.

Toe-crunching yorkers, delectable variations in pace and devastating pace are the key tenets that Bumrah possesses, and there’s no other player in the cricketing world who can implement all of these qualities as efficiently as he does.

The 26-year-old speedster managed to rack up 19 wickets last term at an exceptional economy of 6.63, and given how driven and ambitious Bumrah is, he’ll be keen to better those numbers in 2020.