Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting mainstay Shane Watson has heaped praise on the reigning champions Mumbai Indians, stating they would be incredibly hard to beat for the coming editions if they come up with the same Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 winning squad.
Shane Watson, who retired from all forms of cricket soon after Chennai Super Kings (CSK)’s journey ended in IPL 2020, congratulated MI for lifting the fifth title in his YouTube channel. The left-hand batsman without any second thought mentioned them as the strongest team of the 13th edition of the tournament. He stated that as the tournament Rohit Sharma’s team evolved and became flawless.
“Congratulations Mumbai Indians for winning their 5th IPL title. There is no question that Mumbai Indians had the strongest team all the way through IPL 2020. As the IPL continued to evolve, it confirmed to me more and more that Mumbai Indians have no weaknesses. That’s internationally as well, let alone in the IPL. The more the Mumbai Indians played in the tournament, more and more, it felt they had no weaknesses,” Watson said.
Mumbai Indians incredibly hard to beat: Shane Watson
While having two solid openers in the form of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, batting at number three, continued to remain consistent with demolishing any attack. The middle-order batsman Ishan Kishan, who also played as an opener in Rohit Sharma’s absence, showed his power-hitting skills as he accelerated the innings fearlessly.
“They had world-class opening batsmen, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock. Suryakumar Yadav, he continues to bat so well, it’s not going to be too long before he plays for India. And he had a brilliant tournament. And then Ishan Kishan who came in and set the IPL alight as well. Whether he was batting in the middle-overs or opening in the absence of Rohit, he provided so much impetus,” Shane Watson said.
Batting as the finishers, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard are nightmares for any bowlers if they get settled. Shane Watson has named as “two best finishers in world cricket at the moment right now.” He also noted the contribution of allrounder Krunal Pandya.
“And then two best finishers in world cricket at the moment right now… Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard, just for a bit of back-up there and also Krunal Pandya,” Shane Watson added.
Further, the former Australian cricketer warns if MI enters with the same squad for the coming years, taking the IPL trophy away from them would be incredibly hard.
“In the end, they were too hard to beat, if they continue to put this team on the field over the next few years, they are going to be incredibly hard to beat,” he said.
Mumbai Indians became the only second team after Chennai Super Kings to defend their title.