3 quality MI players who might be benched throughout IPL 2024 ft. Mohammad Nabi

Hit by a couple of injuries ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL), the Mumbai Indians (MI) might need to tap into their bench strength, at least at the start of the tournament.

Suryakumar Yadav is among those who might not be cleared for the opening game, and there are question marks over the fitness of Gerald Coetzee as well. Reports have even come in that Jasprit Bumrah hasn't joined the Mumbai camp yet, although he should be good to go for the start of the campaign.

Despite the fact that the five-time champions might need to get reinforcement from the bench, a few talented players might not be among those called up. A team as strong as MI are invariably going to have a few deserving names on the sidelines.

MI's squad for IPL 2024: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya (c), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Luke Wood, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Anshul Kamboj, Naman Dhir, Shreyas Gopal, Kwena Maphaka, Gerald Coetzee, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma.

Here are three quality MI players who might be benched throughout IPL 2024.

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#3 Kwena Maphaka

India v South Africa: Semi Final - ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup South Africa 2024

Signed as a replacement for Dilshan Madushanka, Kwena Maphaka is an interesting pick-up by MI. The young left-armer was the star of the U19 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year and has immense potential.

Maphaka can swing the ball both ways and has a deadly yorker in his armory. He was also deceptive with his bouncers in the U19 tournament and ended up as the leading wicket-taker, with 21 scalps at an average under 10.

However, Maphaka is still raw and hasn't played any cricket at the top level before. MI have presumably secured him as a project for the future, meaning that the likes of Luke Wood, Nuwan Thushara and Gerald Coetzee could be ahead of the youngster in the pecking order.

It'll be interesting to see how Maphaka fares if he is thrust into the picture immediately, but Mumbai might adopt a wait-and-watch approach.

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#2 Shreyas Gopal

Shreyas Gopal has been in and around the setups of a few IPL teams now and has never been able to make a mark at any of them. It's arguable that the 30-year-old is nearing the prime of his career, with a move to Kerala having brought the best out of him at the domestic level.

Gopal was also a consistent performer with bat and ball in the Maharaja Trophy. He could thus present himself as a handy lower-order option who can chip in with a few overs of googly-laden leg-breaks.

However, with Piyush Chawla carrying the MI spin attack last year, the veteran leggie is expected to be the frontline tweaker in IPL 2024. With options like Kumar Kartikeya in the mix as well, playing two leg-spinners in tandem might also not be possible.

Gopal might have to be consigned to the bench throughout the competition, unless Chawla suffers a terrible dip in form.

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#1 Mohammad Nabi

Australia v Afghanistan - ICC Men's Cricket World Cup India 2023

Not much needs to be said about Mohammad Nabi, who is still going strong despite approaching 40 years of age. The veteran Afghan all-rounder is one of the smartest operators in world cricket with his off-spin and middle-order hitting ability.

However, it's hard to see where Nabi fits in the MI lineup. Virtually all the other overseas names should be ahead of him in the selection process, and there isn't room for a middle-order batter either, with the likes of Tim David and Romario Shepherd accompanying the Indian contingent.

Nabi might thus not be able to add to his 17 career IPL appearances this year.