IPL 2018: Mumbai Indians squad analysis

When it comes to playing a fearless brand of cricket, Mumbai Indians, the most successful team in the history of Indian Premier League, instantly come to mind. The defending champions of the IPL will expect a lot from their reputed core of the team which is such an essential part of the Mumbai Indians campaign. As many as 18 players donned the MI jersey in 2017 season, however only six of those have made it to the MI team in 2018. While skipper Rohit Sharma, batting all-rounder Hardik Pandya and yorker king Jasprit Bumrah were retained by the franchise, the Right to Match Card was used to keep all-rounders Kieron Pollard and the uncapped Indian player Krunal Pandya in their side.

Mumbai Indians is known for keeping the core of the side the same, much like the Chennai Super Kings. In their quest for keeping the core alive, Mumbai Indians lost some of its consistent performers of the recent past. Somebody like a Nitish Rana, for instance, who played a handy role in Mumbai’s success in 2017 (13 matches, 333 runs, 3 half centuries) is not part of this year’s squad. Similarly, senior off spinner Harbhajan Singh (8 wickets in 11 matches in 2017) and Mitchell McClenaghan (19 wickets in 14 matches in 2017) are not part of the MI Paltan, as it is known among fans.

Many domestic players like young Ishan Kishan, Surya Kumar Yadav and Siddhesh Lad make up the Mumbai Indians squad. While Kishan is still finding his feet in the domestic circuit, Lad and Yadav have a fair bit of domestic cricket behind their back which will come handy when playing in tricky situations for the Mumbai Indians.

Mumbai Indians begin their campaign when they meet the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL opening game on April 7, 2018 at 8:00 pm (IST).

Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Mustafizur Rehman, Pat Cummins, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Rahul Chahar, Evin Lewis, Saurabh Tiwary, Ben Cutting, Pradeep Sangwan, JP Duminy, Jason Behrendoff, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, Sharad Lumba, Siddesh Lad, Tare, Mayank Markande, Akila Dhananjaya, Anukul Roy, Mohsin Khan, Nidheesh

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#1 Batting

Skipper Rohit Sharma holds the key for Mumbai Indians batting order

The batting department of the Mumbai Indians squad looks pretty good on paper. Rohit Sharma holds the key to the success of this batting lineup. Sharma is one of the finest limited overs players in the country and the likes of Surya Kumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwari, Ishan Kishan, Siddesh Lad are all capable of changing the fortunes of the match on any given day.

However, it is the inclusion of Evin Lewis that gives them the X-factor. In his 14 match young career, Lewis has already scored a couple of T20 International centuries and is a massive hitter of the ball. Lewin considers Chris Gayle as his mentor and if Lewis gets going at the top, the power play overs will be thoroughly entertaining for the MI fans. Either Rohit Sharma or Ishan Kishan can open with Evin Lewis. If the former decides to open, the right-left hand combination will also come into play.

In case Mumbai Indians see the need to bring further solidity to their batting lineup, JP Duminy (career average of 39.86, better than that of captain Rohit Sharma) can do so in a middle-order packed with big hitters and can have a critical role to play as far as the balance of the side is concerned.

Mumbai Indians will have to decide on who will keep wickets for them. While Aditya Tare has done the job in his past stint with the Mumbai Indians, Ishan Kishan keeping the wickets and batting at the top order may allow for an extra batsman in the middle order. Perhaps one of them can play as a pure batsman too, to help the balance of the side.

MI would hope to find this balance as soon as possible.

#2 All-Rounders

Pandya Brothers have been an invaluable asset for the Mumbai Indians

It is due to the all-rounders that Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians might just finish ahead of their opponents. Mumbai is blessed with excellent all-rounders in the side. Kieron Pollard (over 2300 runs at a strike rate of above 146 in IPL) and the Pandya brothers are the very core of the team. Although it would be interesting to see how Pollard bowls, even an over or two from Pollard and MI can go into the match having 22-24 overs in the bank. Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya can easily bowl 4 overs on their day.

With the spin attack looking weak, Krunal Pandya (10 wickets in 13 matches in IPL 2017) and JP Duminy (23 career wickets at an economy of around 7 in the league) can chip in with the ball if needed and make the side look balanced. Krunal Pandya was the Man of the Match in the finals last year and MI would hope that more of such contributions will be coming from his bat and ball in the coming season. The best part is all of them are match winners with the bat and will have to play a key role if MI are to have a successful season.

Ben Cutting, who made quite a name for himself after playing a vital role in SRH's title win in 2016, is also in the squad but might have to wait for his chance in the playing 11 (which may not come unless there is an injury).

The strength therefore is clearly in the all-rounders of the team who somehow manage to hide the weaknesses. A big challenge for the team might be to zero in on four overseas players. While Lewis and Pollard seem to be a certainty because of the former being a designated opener and the latter being a proven match winner for the Mumbai Indians, if MI go for JP Duminy then they can only have one overseas bowling option. On the other hand, having 2 overseas bowlers might just make the batting a little weak.

#3 Bowling

Bumrah will lead the team's pace attack

Mumbai Indians have one of the best pace attacks in the league. There is a genuine problem of plenty for them in the pace attack. Jasprit Bumrah, undoubtedly, will lead the pack being the master of the 20 overs format that he is (128 wickets from 111 T20s). Mustafizur Rehman from Bangladesh can be very lethal at the top as well as in the death overs and can prove to be an apt bowling partner for Bumrah. However, Pat Cummins also has a strong case in point, after his great run in the Ashes. Another Australian left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff finds a place in the MI scheme of things and the pace attack looks good and complete with Pradeep Sangwan becoming the second Indian pacer who will be determined to put up a good performance.

Bumrah and Sangwan being Indian domestic pacers might immediately find their way into the side but with the likes of Evin Lewis, Keiron Pollard, JP Duminy and Sri Lanka’s Akila Dhananjaya (who is the only reputed spinner in the side) how many overseas pacers MI can afford to play is a big question.

The spin department, well, it seems hollow, as there are no proper spinners except for Dhananjaya (39 wickets in 44 T20s) and the youngster Rahul Chahar (8 wickets in 7 T20s). However, Dhananjaya’s inclusion in the side might just mean leaving out an overseas batsman or an all-rounder which would mean too big a price for letting him in. This means young Chahar and the all-rounders may well have to do the job for the team.