"Cannot afford a slow start again; this is now a sprint, not a marathon" - Deep Dasgupta on Mumbai Indians' chances in IPL 2021

Former India wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta believes a slow start to the UAE leg of IPL 2021 could prove to be fatal for the Mumbai Indians. The five-time winners have garnered a reputation for taking their time to get into a rhythm. The current circumstances, however, have resulted in a second start halfway through the campaign, which is a hurdle the side will have to clear.

Dasgupta believes that the Mumbai Indians do not have any apparent weaknesses in their IPL squad and pointed out Jasprit Bumrah's workload to be a factor to watch out for. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said:

"There are no apparent weaknesses in their squad. They are generally slow starters, but did not start that slow this time around. They have not lost too many players. One thing that might pose to be a bit of a concern is Jasprit Bumrah, he's coming off playing four back-to-back Test matches. His workload management, given that the World Cup is coming up will be important."

Dasgupta also reckons the fact that several players have not played too much competitive cricket in the five-month break could also be potentially a minor concern for the side. He added:

"Many players have not played much cricket heading into the IPL, for example, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya. They will have to take care that they do not start slow again. This is now a sprint, and not a marathon."

As per the IPL 2021 schedule, Mumbai Indians will kick start the UAE leg with a clash against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in Dubai on September 19.

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Rishabh Pant will have a selection headache: Deep Dasgupta

Dasgupta also analyzed the squad of current IPL 2021 points table leaders Delhi Capitals. He believes the franchise are in excellent shape and could be an even bigger force to reckon with as they now have their full squad at their disposal. According to Dasgupta, Rishabh Pant will have a selection headache with the return of Shreyas Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin and others. He added:

"In the first half, Shreyas Iyer was not available, Axar Patel had contracted COVID, halfway through (Ravichandran) Ashwin also said that he needs a break. Now all of them are back, it's a big positive. It will be a headache for the new captain Rishabh Pant to choose his playing eleven."

"They are extremely close to qualification. Plenty of positives, good memories of the UAE. Concern is that (Kagiso) Rabada and (Anrich) Nortje have not looked so good in the first leg and the break that followed. They are also not the best fielding side," Dasgupta concluded.

The Delhi Capitals will resume their IPL 2021 campaign with a fixture against bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22.