IPL 2020: Mumbai Indians (MI) Pre-Tournament Squad Rating

With the highest rating in the pacers category, let’s look at the overall squad rating of Mumbai Indians (MI) for IPL 2020.

29^th March, 8 pm is when the 13^th edition of the IPL, the IPL 2020 was scheduled to start with defending champions, MI taking on CSK at Wankhede. While the IPL has been postponed in the wake of the pandemic, Coronavirus, we couldn’t have got a better date and time to share the team Rating of probably the strongest team in the competition.

After a dream IPL 2019 season, Mumbai Indians have done some interesting changes in the squad. The acquisition of Trent Boult, Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Sherfane Rutherford, etc. have only made them more strong; of course with a few minor hiccups.

So, have Mumbai Indians got a squad that can excel in all the conditions and on all pitches? Let’s look at our unique article where we find the overall squad rating of Mumbai Indians (MI) for IPL 2020 considering all the categories.

Please note:

• The squad rating for IPL 2020 is calculated for five primary categories viz., Openers, Middle-order, All-rounders, Spinners, and Pacers.
• The player roles are bracketed as Main players, Good backups, and other backups, and all are being rated on a scale of 10. However, for overall rating calculation, the weighted average is taken with higher weightage given to the main players. 
• The players are relatively rated for their primary category basis their last two IPL’s performance, and/or their current International/Domestic form.
• While a player can play an additional role as ”Backup’, all categories should have a unique set of main players. 

Before we begin, let’s look at the benchmark players in our 5 primary categories against which every other player is relatively rated. 

• Opener: David Warner (SRH)
• Middle-order: Virat Kohli (RCB)
• All-rounder(s): Hardik Pandya (MI) and Andre Russell (KKR)
• Spinner: Rashid Khan (SRH)
• Pacer: Jasprit Bumrah (MI)

Alright then, without wasting any time, let’s look at the squad rating for Mumbai Indians (MI) for IPL 2020.

Openers – 9.04

Two Main Openers: Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock

Good Backup Opener: Chris Lynn

Other Backup Opener(s): Suryakumar Yadav. 

Hands down the strongest opening contingent in the tournament with the presence of the captain, Rohit Sharma, Quinton De Kock, Chris Lynn, and Suryakumar Yadav. Goes without saying that no other team has such solid opening options in their arsenal to boast off.

The primary two openers, Rohit and de Kock did a wonderful job in IPL 2019 with de Kock impressing the most. Now that Lynn is also in the squad, it could create a headache for Rohit to choose his opening partner, and even play at 3, if required.

But, be it Lynn-Sharma, QDK-Sharma, or Lynn-QDK, whatever the team choose, they look strong as an opening unit. In metrics, Rohit Sharma leads the way with a rating of 9.25, followed by Quinton de Kock and Chris Lynn at 9, and Suryakumar Yadav at 8.75. 

Overall, MI get a cumulative average rating of 9.04 in the openers category.

Middle-order – 8.65

Three Main Middle-order Players: Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Kieron Pollard 

Two Good Backup Middle-order Players: Sherfane Rutherford and Ishan Kishan

Other Backup Middle-order Player(s): Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwari, and Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians would continue with the same set of middle-order players that played for them in IPL 2019. So, the lack of a solid number 4 player, which should ideally trouble them in IPL 2020 would not affect them much given the form of Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, and Surya Yadav last year.

Suryakumar Yadav should Ideally bat at 3, followed by either of Kieron Pollard or Hardik Pandya- depending on the situation. Backing them are explosive Sherfane Rutherford and emerging Ishan Kishan, and Krunal Pandya, who shall act the bowling all-rounder. 

Also, along with Saurabh Tiwari, Mumbai Indians can also use Chris Lynn or Rohit Sharma- if needed in the worst-case scenario. So, in metrics, Hardik Pandya leads the way with a rating of 9.25, followed by Pollard at 9, SKY at 8.5, Rohit Sharma at 8.5, Lynn, Krunal, and Rutherford at 8.25, Kishan at 7.5, and Saurabh Tiwari at 7.25.

Overall, MI get a cumulative average rating of 8.65 in the middle-order category.

All-rounders – 8.95

Two Main All-rounders: Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard

Good Backup All-rounder: Krunal Pandya

Other Backup All-rounder(s): Sherfane Rutherford, Jayant Yadav, Digvijay Deshmukh, and Balwant Rai Singh

Another area which outlines Mumbai Indians’ strengths, and separates them from the rest. They have three solid all-rounders and confirmed playing 11 starters in the form of Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, and Krunal Pandya.

Hardik Pandya has levelled up his game to an extreme level since last year, and Kieron Pollard has been bowling his tiny medium-pace bowling in the last few months. Along with this, Krunal Pandya has got a lot of International exposure last year- all this make them a potent all-round squad.

While the front-line all-rounders are excellent, the backups are talented but slightly inexperienced in the form of Sherfane Rutherford, Jayant Yadav, Digvijay Deshmukh, and Balwant Rai Singh. Nevertheless, in metrics, Hardik Pandya leads the way with a rating of 10, followed by Pollard at 8.67, Krunal at 8.5, Rutherford at 8, Jayant Yadav at 7.6, and Digvijay Deshmukh, and Balwant Rai Singh at 6.33. 

Overall, MI get a cumulative average rating of 8.95 in the all-rounder category.

Spinners – 7.52

Two Main Spinners: Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya

Good Backup Spinner: Anukul Roy

Other Backup Spinner(s): Jayant Yadav and Balwant Rai Singh

The above three categories were all about Mumbai Indians’ strengths, but this is the category which kind of focuses on their weakness, but with T&Cs attached. They have two good spinners in their squad in the form of emerging Rahul Chahar and experienced Krunal Pandya. Barring these two, there are only Jayant Yadav, Anukul Roy, and Balwant Rai Singh as backup spinning options available.

While these may look adequate, it solves the purpose for home pitches where spin doesn’t play a major role. But, slow and low pitches is when Mumbai Indians would crib about not having more spinning options. Nevertheless, Rahul Chahar gets a rating of 8.5, Krunal Pandya at 8.25, Anukul Roy and Jayant Yadav at 6.75 each, and Balwant Rai Singh at 6. 

Overall, MI get a cumulative average rating of 7.52 in the spinners category.

Pacers – 9.07

Two Main Pacers: Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult

Good Backup Pacer(s): Lasith Malinga, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell McClenaghan, and Dhawal Kulkarni.

Other Backup Pacer(s): Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Mohsin Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, and Digvijay Deshmukh

The category which once again outlines Mumbai Indians’ strength, and stamps their authority over the other teams. Leading the way are World Number 1 and 2 ODI bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult along with IPL’s heartthrob, Lasith Malinga. Backing them are a few good pacers in the form of Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell McClenaghan, Dhawal Kulkarni, and Hardik Pandya.

As if these were not enough, they also have few more backup options in the form of Kieron Pollard, Mohsin Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, and Digvijay Deshmukh. The only thing which baffles me is the presence of 4 overseas quicks. Not sure how Mumbai Indians would utilize them, but it seems an overkill as two of them are sure to warm the bench.

So, in metrics, Jasprit Bumrah leads the way with a rating of a perfect 10, followed by Trent Boult and Lasith Malinga at 9, Hardik Pandya at 8.5, Mitchell McClenaghan at 8, Nathan Coulter-Nile at 7.75. In backups, Dhawan Kulkarni gets 7.5 Pollard gets 7, Rutherford gets 6.75, and Mohsin Khan and Digvijay Deshmukh get a rating of 6. 

Overall, MI get a cumulative average rating of 9.07 in the pacers category.

Conclusion: 

Mumbai Indians (MI) get an overall squad rating of 8.63 for IPL 2020. Looking at the squad, playoffs positions seem guaranteed for the defending champions, but winning the tournament would need Rohit Sharma and his team to break the even-number jinx of not winning the tournament. 

Thanks for reading! What is your view on the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad rating for IPL 2020? Please let us know in the comments section.

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ALSO READ: IPL 2020 Special: Predicted Playing 11 of Mumbai Indians (MI) 

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