MI PREVIEW
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Possible Starting XI
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What works for MI?
• The Kishan-Rohit combo up-top, which is a truly mortifying prospect for opposition sides. Why? Because it has EVERYTHING! Firstly, they’re two world-class individuals who can both win matches single-handedly. Secondly, they bring to the fore a left-right combo. Thirdly, they’re the perfect match: Rohit’s serenity is the perfect foil for Kishan’s explosivity. Lastly, they’re already an established opening pair who love batting together: they’ve opened 7 times together and have averaged 52 while striking at 163. Phew!
• The sheer presence of Suryakumar Yadav, who for the past 18 months has arguably been the best T20 batter in the world, makes MI's batting look formidable. Having the current version of SKY is almost akin to having not one, but two world-class batters. What will be interesting to see is if he continues to bat at No.3 — his best position for MI — or if he drops down one position to allow young Tilak Varma to bat in his preferred slot. Shouldn't make a difference though, for SKY has shown he can be equally effective and destructive in all positions.
• In Tim David, there’s a new partner-in-crime for Pollard who can more than fill the void left by Pandya. No exaggeration. Since 2021, David has scored a staggering 128 more runs than anyone else in the world in the last 8 over of innings, and his strike rate at the death in the said period has been a whopping 184.5. He smashes both pace (SR 163.1) and spin (SR 152), is a quick starter (SR of 142.7 in first 8 balls), has no trouble in constructing an innings and, currently, has no palpable weakness.
• The flexibility David provides could enable MI to use Pollard however they wish to. They could send the big man in early knowing they have an able finisher waiting in the shed, or they could hold him back and instead use David as a floater, something the Lahore Qalandars did in the PSL to great effect.
• Assuming Tymal Mills to be the third overseas player, the two likely candidates to occupy fourth spot — Daniel Sams and Fabian Allen — both have the ability to double-up as finishers at No.7. Since the start of 2020, Sams and Allen have struck at 174 and 166.5 respectively in overs 16-20, both batters finding the fence every 4 balls. In a way, this takes care of the Krunal Pandya-sized hole in the starting XI.
• Now that Mumbai have Tymal Mills, a designated middle/death overs specialist, Rohit can finally start utilizing Bumrah more in the powerplay. Across the last two seasons, only in 10/27 games did Bumrah bowl more than one over inside the powerplay. This was because of two reasons: one, Boult was there to care of the new ball and two, Rohit *had* to hold back Bumrah because he was his only reliable non-powerplay seamer. Mills is unproven at the highest level, true, but the package he brings will certainly allow Rohit to attack more with Bumrah up-front.
• Mills/Bumrah can also potentially be a formidable force at the back end. Since 2019, Mills has maintained an ER of 7.9 in overs 16-20. Of seamers to have bowled at least as many overs as him at the death in the said period, only Bumrah and Mustafizur have been more economical. The left-arm variety he brings is also an added bonus.
Where MI might struggle?
• At least this season, Mumbai might struggle to get consistent results from the bat of young Tilak Varma, who will be playing in the IPL for the first time. In SMAT, Varma has already shown plenty of promise, representing Hyderabad, but realistically it’ll be extremely difficult for the 19-year-old to make a major impact. Particularly if he bats at No.3 or No4.
• Suryakumar Yadav is expected to miss MI’s first game with injury. The franchise would want him to miss no more games as they are paper-thin on the Indian batting front. His place is initially likely to be taken by Anmolpreet Singh, a batter who averages 18 in the format with a strike rate of 106 — this alone speaks volumes. It won’t be an overstatement to claim that MI are potentially a Suryakumar Yadav injury away from being doomed.
• With both Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar gone, Mumbai are left with Murugan Ashwin, Fabian Allen, Mayank Markande and Sanjay Yadav in the spin department. All are very effective bowlers in their own right, but neither spinner is a proven success at the IPL level. While Yadav has never played in the IPL, Markande has stagnated and has not been a starter since 2019. M Ashwin has been a good support act — nothing more, nothing less — while Allen is, at best, a decent defensive option. The aforementioned players providing the same cutting edge as Rahul Chahar did, looks unlikely.
• The absence of an experienced off-spinner (Hrithik Shokeen and Tim David are the only bowlers in MI’s squad that turn the ball from left to right) is also a concern. They could be picked apart by LHB dominant sides. There is no Jayant Yadav this time around to counter the threat of the lefties.
• With Boult gone, who are the wicket-taking seamers in the powerplay? Unadkat and Sams both have had excellent economy in the powerplay (6.9 and 7.2 respectively) but they’ve taken an average of 0.42 and 0.28 wkts per match in the first six. Meredith (0.40 wkts per inns) isn’t a powerplay specialist either and is expensive too, while Mills, as discussed previously, is someone better off used outside the first six.
• The burden of taking wickets up-front, it seems, could very well fall on Bumrah. A fit Jofra Archer solves this problem instantly, but, this season, Mumbai might have a hard time with the new-ball.
• With Unadkat slated to walk-in at No.8, the side has a concerningly long tail. Playing Sanjay Yadav as the spinner will help mitigate the problem a bit, but such a move will leave the team with no attacking spinner in the XI.
