IPL 2019: 3 players that could turn the tables for Mumbai Indians

After a rather poor showing in 2018, there isn’t an ounce of doubt that the Mumbai Indians will be looking to stamp their authority in the IPL this season. Last time around, the 3-time IPL champions had succumbed to the pressure and expectations. They’ve made some good buys at the auction, but will that bring about a change?

Here, we take a look at three players that could bring success to the Mumbai Indians in 2019.

1) Rohit Sharma

The flamboyant Indian batsman had a season to forget last year. Amidst the constant shuffling between opening the batting or plying his trade in the middle order, the runs had gone past Rohit Sharma. Less than 300 runs at an average of 23 is not what you'd expect from a player of Sharma’s stature. In fact, the skipper’s dry IPL had begun from 2017, where he amassed 333 runs at an average of 24.

Everybody, except the team management, wants Sharma to open the batting. Unfortunately, this time around as well, it seems a far cry. With the presence of Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton De Kock and Evin Lewis, it’s unlikely that Sharma will open. I’d put him in at three and no further than that. With the kind of hitting abilities that the middle and lower order batsmen have (Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Ishan Kishan), there isn’t a need for stability down there. It’s required up at the top.

Sharma doesn’t necessarily need to run the show for the Mumbai Indians. It’s important that he takes a backseat and plays the role of an anchor, around whom the others display their lavish skills. If Mumbai can keep their wickets intact till the 10th over or so, good luck to the opposition team.

2) Quinton De Kock

De Kock set the IPL on fire in 2016.

It’s no mystery that Quinton De Kock didn’t have a good time in the IPL last year. Expectations in the RCB camp were high and rightfully so, with the southpaw having lit up the 2016 season with Delhi. On a good day, De Kock can blow oppositions away. The pitch at the Wankhede is the perfect hunting ground for him.

With plenty of bounce and pace off the wicket, he should enjoy his time at Mumbai. With De Kock donning the wicket-keeping gloves, the load will be taken off Ishan Kishan, who had a hit and miss sort of season last time around. While Kishan is a good wicket-keeper in his own right, De Kock is right up there amongst the best in the world from the current lot.

Evin Lewis will have to wait for his opportunity this season. He looked like a rabbit in front of headlights when the ball started to swing. As an opener, that’s not acceptable. De Kock and Suryakumar Yadav up at the top would make life difficult for any bowler.

3) Barinder Sran

Sran claimed the prized wicket of Kohli at the 2016 IPL finals.

Here is a player who has all the potential in the world, but hasn’t quite realized it yet. At the finals of the IPL 2016, guess who got the prized wicket of Virat Kohli? The name is Barinder Sran. An excellent cross seam delivery at a point of the match where Kohli seemed to have the opposition at his mercy is a testament to Sran’s potential.

Not many bowlers can boast of having outsmarted Kohli. While he hasn’t been in the limelight since, Sran has shown enough ability to be picked up by the Mumbai Indians for 3.6 crores. But this isn’t about the money for him.

It’s about an opportunity to learn from one of the most celebrated left arm pacers in world cricket, Zaheer Khan. There were a few glimpses of Sran’s raw pace on display last year, though none more than when he managed to injure Shikhar Dhawan on the elbow with an absolute ripper of a delivery.

While the Wankhede does provide the quicker bowlers with something, it can work against them. Zaheer knows the pitch at the back of his hand and will be looking to impart all of that wisdom into Sran. This could be the season where we see the Mumbai Indians unearth another international superstar in the form of Barinder Sran.

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