IPL 2018: 5 Players Mumbai Indians should pursue for the 2019 season

Coming into IPL 2018, Mumbai Indians were the defending champions of the Indian Premier League and were the only side to have won the title thrice. The team had a lot of expectations to meet this year but their on-field performance was poor.

The Rohit Sharma-led side struggled in the opening few games, winning only one out of their first six games. The team has traditionally been a slow starter but they usually catch up in the end. This year though, the competition was immense and it was difficult for the side to catch up with the likes of CSK, SRH and KKR.

The team faced a number of problems were unable to sort it out right until the end of the tournament. The side had a slot for a second foreign pacer but McClenaghan was inconsistent in that role throughout the season. Mumbai Indians also had problems with their second spinner as Krunal Pandya was ineffective.

Lack of quality spinners was another problem which Mumbai faced in the latter half of the tournament when batsmen started reading Markande and it became difficult for the youngster to pick wickets.

The biggest problem for the team though was in finishing the innings with the bat as Pollard failed repeatedly and the Pandya brothers were inconsistent. The team would be looking to get some of the following players to sort out their problems.

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#5 Murugan Ashwin

Ashwin wasn't utilised properly by Kohli this year

Murugan Ashwin is one of the most talented spinners in India at present. He was a part of the Rising Pune Super Giants side in 2016 and was phenomenal in the first season. He wasn't at his best in 2017 but had still done enough to be bought by RCB for a decent price.

Ashwin has the ability to turn the ball a long way and if he is utilised properly he can be a great bowler, but Kohli was hesitant in having him in the team. He played in just two games this year and was extremely impressive in those games picking up three wickets.

Mumbai didn't have a quality spinner as Markande faded out in the second half of the competition and was totally ineffective in the last few matches. Ashwin can be a great addition to this squad and with Rohit's brilliant ability to use spinners effectively, this move could also be a good one for the bowler.

#4 Karn Sharma

Sharma has already played for Mumbai before

Karn Sharma is one of the most talented spinners in the country and is a player who is capable of demolishing any batting line up on his day. He turns the ball a long way and is a great asset to any team in a T20 competition.

Mumbai didn't retain Harbhajan Singh this year but unearthed a new spinner in Mayank Markande. The problem though was with his performance in the latter stages of the tournament, while Krunal Pandya too didn't perform well with the ball.

Karn Sharma played only in a few matches for the Chennai team and it is unlikely that he will get much match time in a team which is filled with quality spinners. He is a brilliant spinner and he has the ability to play the big shots in death as well. He will be a great addition to the Mumbai squad.

#3 Basil Thampi

Thampi and Bumrah would form a potent bowling combination

Basil Thampi is one of the best bowlers in domestic cricket in India and is a part of an impressive bowling attack in Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is among the best T20 bowlers in the country and will be a great addition to any team.

Hyderabad has plenty of ammunition in fast bowling with the likes of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma and T Natarajan in their fold. With such an impressive line up of fast bowlers, the team is unlikely to give a chance to Thampi in the absence of any injuries.

Thampi is a brilliant bowler in both the middle overs as well as in the death overs. Mumbai has a place for a third pace bowler and if they could get the services of Thampi it would help the side perform much better.

#2 Heinrich Klaasen

Klaasen is a good player of spin

Heinrich Klaasen was brought in as a replacement for the Rajasthan captain Steve Smith, after the Australian was banned for a year. Klaasen shot into limelight when he handled the Indian spinners in South Africa with ease when his teammates were struggling to tackle them.

Klaasen wasn't used by Rajasthan Royals properly as Rahane preferred to go with D'Arcy Short. He has played in just three matches for Rajasthan and may not even be in the squad next year when Smith comes back.

Mumbai Indians are in need of a finisher who has a good strike rate and Klaasen is an ideal candidate for that position. Mumbai would love to have the services of Klaasen next year as he can provide the ideal finish to the Mumbai innings.

#1 Dwayne Smith

Smith will be a useful addition to the Mumbai team

Dwayne Smith is one of the foreign players who has travelled quite a lot in IPL. He has played for Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Gujarat in his stint in IPL and has been pretty successful as well.

Smith has the ability to play both as an opener as well as a finisher. He opened the innings for Chennai and batted in the middle order for Mumbai. He has a strike rate of 135 and will be a brilliant finisher for any team.

Mumbai Indians had struggled throughout the season with their middle order problems. The likes of Pollard, Duminy, Rohit, and the Pandya brothers failed collectively and Smith can be a great addition to Mumbai's 2019 squad.