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After a disappointing season last year, Mumbai Indians has been able to form a strong and balanced squad for the 2019 IPL. Talking about Mumbai Indians' last year's performance, the batting let down the team on more than one occasion.
The team management kept tinkering the batting order but to little success. The poor performance of big stars like Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard didn't help Mumbai Indians' cause either. They also experimented with the opening position before they settling with Evin Lewis and Suryakumar Yadav.
Even though Evin Lewis had a decent debut season, the team management got in Quinton de Kock to provide solidity to the top order. Also, they bought the experienced Yuvraj Singh to strengthen the middle order.
This year too the team has a lot of opening batsmen at its disposal and it is going to be interesting to see with what combination the team eventually plays. Here are 6 batsmen who fit in as openers in Mumbai Indians' squad for this year's tournament:
#6 Anmolpreet Singh
Anmolpreet Singh has been rated highly by the cricket pundits in India. Singh, who plays for Punjab, has scored heaps of runs in domestic cricket. He was also the member of India's Under 19 World Cup squad that reached the finals in 2016.
The 20-year-old was also picked for the India A squad recently. Even though Mumbai Indians have a barrage of options for the opening slot, Anmolpreet can be used as a surprise weapon in the tournament.
#5 Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan was a regular member of the Mumbai Indians' playing XI in IPL 2018. Kishan played some useful innings for the team. The youngster has been taking huge strides in domestic cricket and is leading Jharkhand at the young age of 20.
The wicket-keeper batsman played in the middle order throughout IPL 2018 but he opens the innings for his stateside and has scored big runs in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Considering his success as an opening batsman, it will be tempting for Mumbai Indians to try him at that position.
#4 Evin Lewis
Evin Lewis made his IPL debut in 2018. The West Indies batsman has been exceptional for his national side and there were huge expectations from him in the IPL too.
Lewis had a fairly successful season scoring 382 runs in 13 matches at an average of 29.38 and a strike-rate of 138.40. However, with Quinton de Kock in the side, Lewis will have to bring his A game to the fore to keep his place in the side.
#3 Suryakumar Yadav
In an unexpected move last season, Suryakumar Yadav was promoted to open the innings. Yadav, who batted in the lower middle-order for his previous franchise KKR, relished this opportunity, scoring 512 runs in 14 games at an outstanding average of 36.57.
Yadav looked solid at the top and played some fluent knocks. It will be interesting to see whether the Mumbai Indians changes its opening combination or sticks with Yadav.
#2 Rohit Sharma
Even after being so successful as an opener at the international level, Rohit Sharma has restrained himself from opening in the IPL.
However, he did give opening a shot last season when he opened in the first couple of matches. Unfortunately, Rohit scored 26 runs in those two outings and shifted back to the middle order.
Even though he provides a lot of balance to the side batting in the middle order, the Mumbai Indians skipper can be devastating as an opener and he surely should give himself some more time in that position.
#1 Quinton de Kock
Mumbai Indians added a big name in its squad even before the auction began. Mumbai Indians brought in Quinton de Kock from RCB in the trade window.
De Kock is currently one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen in World Cricket. Before moving to RCB, de Kock had a couple of fruitful seasons with the Delhi Daredevils where he batted with class and tenacity. Mumbai Indians will be hoping for big things from the South African and as a result, provide the team with flying starts.
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