The defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) are this time also favourites to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. They have the proper combination of young and experienced players which makes them the strong team.
Compared to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), MI’s almost all players are active international cricketers and enjoying great success.
Moreover, Trent Boult, one of the best bowlers of the current era, has also joined this season. But MI’s most crucial player Lasith Malinga, who was the significant contributor in IPL 2019 win, has pulled out his name for this season. The franchise has roped in James Pattinson as his replacement.
With the inclusion of new members, the Mumbai-based is set to play the season opener against CSK on 19 September. So, here we have jotted down MI’s predicted XI in their first match.
Mumbai Indians Predicted Playing XI against Chennai Super Kings
Top-order: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav
Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock were the opening pair in the last season. They were successful in giving a decent start to the team which contributed them to winning the title.
Australian dasher Chris Lynn is an opening option but in the recent interaction, MI’s head coach Mahela Jayawardene made it clear that the Rohit Sharma-Quinton de Kock opening pair wouldn’t be tinkered with. He said,” why to fix something that ain’t broken”.
At no.3, Suryakumar Yadav’s position is already fixed because of his prolific performance in 2019. He amassed 424 runs to be MI’s second-highest run-getter in the last edition.
Middle Order: Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard
Bought for a whopping INR 5.5 crore, Ishan, who played 14 games in 2018, played seven in 2019, scoring just 101 runs with an average of 16.83. The wicketkeeper-batsman might be given the position at no.4 because he has the ability to accelerate the innings.
Moving on at No.5 position, the big hitter Kieron Pollard would get the slot. He had a prolific CPL 2020 leading the Tribago Knightriders to the title victory. Also, he was seen bowling at occasions. For the much-awaited season, he is surely going to be the key member.
Allrounder: Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya
The two Pandya brothers have an enormous contribution to the success of Mumbai Indians in three-four editions. Hardik Pandya, who is coming back from the injury, is flexible to bat any position in the middle-order. On the other hand, Krunal Pandya’s spin bowling will play a crucial role in the UAE pitches which favour spinners.
Bowlers: Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Nathan Coulter Nile, Trent Boult
Rahul Chahar delivered as expected performance in the last season. As spinners are expected to dominate in the UAE, the youngster can rise in stature with a dominant performance.
Captain Rohit Sharma had used him in the powerplay and he proved that he could do the difficult job too. It will not be surprising if he gets to bowl in the first six overs again.
With the inclusion of Trent Boult, the pace bowling of the franchise has become more lethal. He has given outstanding performance with the new ball while Bumrah is a premier death bowling. The other fast bowler in option is Nathan Coulter Nile for Mumbai Indians.
MI’s predicted XI:
Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Nathan Coulter Nile, Trent Boult