No team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history has made done a hat-trick of consecutive title wins. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) came close in 2012, with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spoiling their party. With the 2019 and 2020 editions in their kitty, Mumbai Indians (MI) will eye a hat-trick of the IPL’s version of gold medals. With the right skills and balance at their disposal, there's there is no reason for them to why they won't succeed.
MI have four wins and three defeats in their seven matches this season. Usually slow starters, they peak in the second half of the tournament. A four-and-a-half-month gap between the two phases is a unique situation, and therefore their trajectory is tough to predict. The pattern apart, their squad has the best balance among all competitors.
Mumbai Indians squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Aditya Tare (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Chris Lynn, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Arjun Tendulkar, Anmolpreet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Anukul Roy, Kieron Pollard, Jimmy Neesham, Mohsin Khan, Adam Milne, Dhawal Kulkarni, Marco Jansen, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Piyush Chawla
It's It is not surprising that six out of the 15 players in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup are from Mumbai Indians.
SWOT Analysis of Mumbai Indians (MI) for IPL 2021
Strengths
MI’s strength lies in their balance and the confidence the players enjoy from the team management. Rohit’s captaincy brought the turnaround for the franchise since 2013. He has led the side to a record five titles and remains the most successful IPL cricketer with six title wins (his first win came with Deccan Chargers in 2009).
Tactically brilliant, Rohit backs his players and remains fearless in his approach. E.g.For example, despite Rahul Chahar’s success in the tournament, he benched the leggie in favour of the off-spinner Jayant Yadav against a left-hander-dominated Delhi side in the tournament final in 2020 and reaped the rewards.
A fixture in the Mumbai side for 12 editions now, Pollard remains a powerhouse. In MI's last game against CSK, they needed 138 from 62 balls when Pollard walked in. He finished with an unbeaten 34-ball 87 to clinch the thriller. He remains the side's best fielder, can chip in with the ball, and Rohit couldn't have eyed a better deputy than the West Indian captain.
Mumbai started their 2021campaign on slow tracks in Chennai before making merry with the bat in Delhi. To their glee, they now return to the UAE, where they won the last edition. They remain a batting powerhouse, with Rohit, de Kock and Suryakumar in the top-order. There’s There is enough flexibility and firepower in Kishan, Pollard and the Pandya brothers. Lynn remains a backup for de Kock, and in that case, Kishan can take the keeping role.
In Bumrah, Boult, Milne, Jansen and Coulter-Nile, there ’s is enough class and variety in their pace attack. With 12 wickets at 10.75 and an economy rate of 5.73, Milne was the leading wicket-taker in the The Hundred. With Hardik available to bowl now, they will have seven bowling options in their line-up.
Weakness
MI have a solid, and flexible middle-order, but do they have a backup for that? Tiwary, Tare, Tendulkar or Neesham don’t do not give you the same confidence. Also, Kishan and Hardik’s form has been a matter of concern.
Rahul Chahar enjoys Rohit’s confidence and keeps getting better. Even otherwise, the spin department has experience in Jayant, Krunal and Chawla. However, it falls pales when we draw its comparison against the pace attack. With only a couple of slots to fill, MI and are primarily dependent on Rahul Chahar. Remember, spin will play an important role in the UAE.
Opportunities
With Virat Kohli leaving the T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup, Rohit is the natural successor. The MI skipper would like to quash the lingering rumours on the age factor aside and again present his case on why he's the best man for the role.
Through a good showing, Kishan can be the first-choice wicketkeeper in the Indian side for the upcoming World Cup. South Africa's Jansen could be a surprise package.
For MI, this is their MI’s chance to complete do a hat-trick of consecutive IPL wins and cement their legacies like NBA’s Boston Celtics of the 1950s and the 1960s or the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. Or, closer home, like the Ranji Trophy side based in the same city in the 1960s..
Threats
Mumbai also have a habit of starting slow, gradually adjusting and then peaking. Technically, this is a fresh start, and they would will eye beginning on a high note.
Milne, Coulter-Nile, Lynn, Rohit, Bumrah, among a few others, are injury-prone. In case of a cluster of injuries, there aren't are not enough quality replacements.
Bumrah’s workload management has also been the a talking point. He played all the fourfive Tests in England, and will now comes feature in the IPL and then theas well as the T20 World Cup, followed by the New Zealand’s tour of India and then the India’s South Africa tour. Keeping his importance and the hectic schedule in mind, can Mumbai afford to manage India’s premier pacer’s workload?
MI’s likely starting XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Adam Milne
MI’s remaining schedule
- Sunday, 19 September: MI vs CSK (Dubai)
- Thursday, 23 September: MI vs KKR (Abu Dhabi)
- Sunday, 26 September: MI vs RCB (Dubai)
- Tuesday, 28 September: MI vs PBKS (Abu Dhabi)
- Saturday, 2 October: MI vs DC (Sharjah)
- Tuesday, 5 October: MI vs RR (Sharjah)
- Friday, 8 October: MI vs SRH (Abu Dhabi)