IPL 2021: "The Indian core is the Mumbai Indians' biggest strength" - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra has said the core group of Indian players is the Mumbai Indians' biggest strength.

Barring Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested, all the other six Indian players who are likely to make it to the Mumbai Indians' starting XI in IPL 2021 were part of the Virat Kohli-led side for the limited-overs series against England.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted this facet as the Mumbai Indians' greatest plus point.

"The Indian core is the Mumbai Indians' biggest strength and it is not only a core but one which can do the encore. You have Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik, Krunal, Bumrah and Rahul Chahar, they are the players who are going to play hundred percent in the playing XI and they are all match-winners in their own right," said Chopra.

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that most of the Indian players in the Mumbai Indians lineup are among the best in their area of expertise.

"Which team has this kind of Indian core, you will not get one of this quality anywhere because you may not find a better batsman than Rohit Sharma in white-ball cricket, a better bowler than Bumrah, and a better all-rounder than Hardik. Krunal is matching him shoulder to shoulder, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav have been absolute revelations," added Chopra.

The confidence the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya will carry after their recent exploits against England will make the Mumbai Indians an even more formidable unit.

VVS Laxman says both Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav will ‘definitely’ make his 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup 🏆🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/Sk4TMA3RTu

— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) March 25, 2021

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Aakash Chopra on the Mumbai Indians' other two strengths

Rohit Sharma has led the Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra picked Rohit Sharma's astute leadership as another of the Mumbai Indians' biggest strengths.

"Their second huge strength is Rohit Sharma's captaincy. He is 24-carat-gold, the best-cut diamond who knows very well how to read the game. From his face you will not be able to figure out which way the match is heading, he remains a little poker-faced but the good thing is he has the ability to control the flow of the game, which is easier said than done," said Chopra.

The former KKR player observed the Mumbai Indians also have one of the best seam attacks in IPL 2021, with the Delhi Capitals being the only other contender.

"The third thing is that they have one of the finest fast bowling attacks. They have Bumrah, Trent Boult, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Dhawal Kulkarni. Only one team can match their fast bowling repertoire and that is Delhi, who have Nortje and Kagiso Rabada. But they also don't have an Indian replacement for Bumrah because there is only one Bumrah and Bhuvi is with Sunrisers Hyderabad," concluded Chopra.

Apart from the aforementioned seamers, the Mumbai Indians also have Adam Milne and all-rounder backups in James Neesham and Marco Jansen should the need arise.

"It's not every day that a youngster who is 20-years-old gets picked in the IPL." 🙌📰 Marco Jansen talks about his cricketing journey and more ⬇️#OneFamily #MumbaiIndianshttps://t.co/EMoJxp49Zo

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 25, 2021