IPL 7: Season Preview - Building up to the start of Mumbai Indians' title defence

Corey Anderson was probably the most valuable player available in this season’s IPL auctions. Ever since his international debut, he was in the radar of most IPL franchises, and I still think that it was a masterstroke on the part of the MI hierarchy to buy this hard-hitting left-hander from the Kiwi land. I am sure that he’s the kind of player you need in the T20 format of the game, and, without a smidgen of doubt, I can say that he will go on to pose a real challenge to the longest of hits ever struck in the history of the league. The No. 5 and No. 6 positions in the MI batting order could become a major toss up between Corey Anderson and Kieron Pollard.

Corey Anderson could be an invaluable addition to the MI setup

As far as the MI batting order is concerned, if the aforementioned top 6 take their respective places, it should make for an exciting batting unit to keep an eye on.

Bowling unit:

Harbhajan Singh should take his rightful place at No. 7 and will be a key component in the Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack. He has always relished the bounce that he gets at the Wankhede, and, with the season in India coming to a close and the Indian summer taking a toll on the fast bowlers, the turbanator will have a huge role to play as the lead spinner in the side.

Lasith Malinga will no doubt be buoyant after leading his country to a World T20 title and will once again be a major driving force in MI’s title defence. There’s no need of mentioning the prowess of ‘slinga’ Malinga when it comes to T20 cricket, and it’s good for the MI think-tank and supporters that he is still part of the set-up. Malinga and Harbhajan will be the two key personnels on the bowling front.

One of the contentious recruits of this IPL season was that of Zaheer Khan. The Indian fast bowler has been struggling with injuries, and has not been a regular part of the national side, so spending 2.6 crores on him was always going to be debatable. His return to MI, however, will see him team up with Malinga once again.

The No. 10 slot in the side is probably the biggest quandary as far as the MI think-tank is concerned. Playing Michael Hussey as a specialist batsman, Kieron Pollard and Corey Anderson as all-rounders, and giving Malinga his rightful place as a specialist seamer will make for the 4 allowed overseas players in the playing XI. And even if Pragyan Ojha is accommodated as the second specialist spinner, it does weaken the bowling line-up a bit.

If Ojha does play, it could well be Jasprit Bumrah who plays as the third seamer in the side.

MI don’t have a recognizable Indian bowler in the side, apart from Ojha and Harbhajan that is, and they could well be handicapped from using the lively pace of Marchant De Lange and Josh Hazlewood given the presence of much more accomplished overseas players.

C.M Gautam, Pawan Suyal, Jalaj Saxena, Shreyas Gopal, Apporv Wankhade, Sushant Marathe, Ben Dunk (exciting batsman, who plays for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Australian BBL) and Krishmar Santokie (West Indian medium pacer) are the other members of this power-packed MI squad.

Looking ahead towards the upcoming IPL season

The Mumbai Indians squad still looks good and has the substance to go on and successfully defend the title. If anything, there lies a couple of spots that could require some kind of a tweaking in order to strike the right combination for the prevalent conditions.

Also, making the transition from playing the 1st phase of the tournament in the UAE to the 2nd phase back in India will be challenging for all the IPL franchises. It’s going to be fascinating to see how the teams fare during the 1st phase of the season that could have a massive bearing on who holds the bragging rights come the end of the 47-day long tournament.

MI have the squad and a great bunch of support staff to continue remaining a consistent IPL outfit. Barring the 1st couple of seasons, things have looked really good since 2010, and I am very much confident that the 2014 season will continue embellishing the brand that MI is, even if it is Tendulkar-less.

ALA RE ALA!