IPL 2018 – Mumbai Indians Team Preview

Captain: Rohit Sharma.

Coach: Mahela Jayawardene.

Home Ground: Wankhede Stadium.

IPL 2017 Result: Winners!

Best Result: Champions in 2013, 2015 and 2017.

Released: Lendl Simmons, Jitesh Sharma, Nicholas Pooran, Ambati Rayudu, Nitish Rana, Jos Buttler, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Vinay Kumar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jagadeesha Suchith, Tim Southee, Deepak Punia, Mitchell Johnson, Krishnappa Gowtham, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kieron Pollard, Karn Sharma, Asela Gunaratne, Parthiv Patel.

Purchased: Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, ~~Pat Cummins~~, Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ben Cutting, Mustafizur Rahman, Rahul Chahar, Pradeep Sangwan, ~~Jason Behrendorff~~, Jean-Paul Duminy, Saurabh Tiwary, Tajinder Singh, Akila Dananjaya, MD Nidheesh, Aditya Tare, Siddhesh Lad, Mayank Markande, Sharad Lumba, Anukul Roy, Mohsin Khan, Mitchell McClenaghan.

When you look at the history of the Indian Premier League, you will know that no team has done better than the Mumbai Indians, the only team to have won the title on three separate occasions. They’ve been winning it in alternate years over the last 5 years and if you go by history, they should be missing out on the title this year. Also, keep in mind that only Chennai Super Kings have won successive IPL titles in the past!

They went all out to strengthen their bowling this year, buying Jason Behrendorff, but he had to be replaced by Kiwi McClenaghan, being ruled out with an injury. They also added Pat Cummins, Akila Dananjaya and Mustafizur ‘The Fizz’ Rahman to the team. The Fizz and McClenaghan will fight for a place, as other overseas players like Pollard, Cutting, Lewis and Duminy all seem likely starters. Cummins was later injured and replaced by Adam Milne!

Lewis will provide all the firepower at the top of the order, a batsman who became the third to score 2 T20I centuries. Him along with RoHIT at the top, who is also one of the most dangerous T20 batsmen in the world, make a powerful opening pair. Mumbai generally start off slow but with such smashers at the top, I don’t see that happening in IPL 2018.

We have the bowling and batting covered, but let’s not forget that the team has extremely capable all-rounders as well. The Pandya brothers have a ball of the time in the IPL each year, and that’s why the management paid a bomb of Rs. 8.8 crore to buy back Krunal Pandya at the IPL 2018 auction. The all-round department also has Duminy and Pollard, while the fielding is top notch, having being coached by the great Jonty Rhodes for all these years.

Mumbai Indians Squad for IPL 2018:

Rohit Sharma(c), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, ~~Pat Cummins~~, Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ben Cutting, ~~Jason Behrendorff~~, Mustafizur Rahman, Rahul Chahar, Pradeep Sangwan, Jean-Paul Duminy, Saurabh Tiwary, Tajinder Singh, Akila Dananjaya, MD Nidheesh, Aditya Tare, Siddhesh Lad, Mayank Markande, Sharad Lumba, Anukul Roy, Mohsin Khan, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne.

If there’s one thing that this team lacks at the moment, I believe it is their domestic talent. They had a brilliant find in Nitish Rana, but they released him, along with Suchith, Gopal and Vinay Kumar. If the big stars have an off day, the team might become slightly vulnerable. However, that’s a big IF. Overall, this team is a brilliant one, but playing under the pressure of defending your trophy is never easy.

Mumbai Indians Squad for IPL 2018:

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