There seems to be no bigger brand in the IPL other than the larger than life team of Mumbai Indians. The men in blue are always under the spotlight mainly due to the star power associated with the team, and on its own alone, this organisation has transformed the IPL into a T20 powerhouse.
The previous edition was quite underwhelming for the Mumbai Indians, as the Rohit Sharma-led outfit failed to even make it to the playoffs. It was the first time since 2009, that this ever dynamic team didn’t make it to the top 4 of the tournament.
Nevertheless, that won’t have any bearing upon the expectations from this team for the upcoming edition. In Rohit Sharma, they have a beast as a leader, who can single-handedly drive his side to glory. To add to that, a couple of smart buys in this year’s auctions have added to the fore.
Mitchell Johnson, the former Australian quick, who stood out as Mumbai’s spine with the ball during their victorious campaign of 2013, is back with his first ever IPL team. The likes of Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah make for a deadly T20 pace bowling attack.
There are a few vital aspects about this team and the two-time IPL winners will be looking to build upon that. Below, we conduct a thorough SWOT analysis to assess Mumbai’s chances of winning the crown for a record third time.
Mumbai Indians likely XI:
- P. Patel (wk) 2. R. Sharma (c) 3. A. Rayudu 4. J. Buttler 5. K. Pandya 6. K. Pollard 7. H. Pandya 8. H. Singh 9. M. Johnson 10. L. Malinga 11. J. Bumrah