IPL 2019: Strengths and Weaknesses of Mumbai Indians (MI)

Pace bowling, the highlight as we look at the strengths and weakness(es) of Mumbai Indians (MI) for IPL 2019. 

Mumbai Indians are probably one of the most followed sides In the IPL alongside Chennai Super Kings. As has been in the last few years for MI, they have been doing extremely well every alternate year. Hence, not to jinx it, but 2019 looks like a golden year for the Mumbai Indians.

Anyway, coming to the IPL 2019 campaign, Mumbai Indians had some key pain points to address. They solved that by adding Yuvraj Singh, Barinder Sran, Lasith Malinga, Pankaj Jaiswal, and Anmolpreet Singh to their squad. So, let’s try to identify the key strengths and weakness(es) of the Mumbai Indians (MI) for IPL 2019.

STRENGTHS:

Opening Combination

This is a dicey take as this can be their strength as well as their lost opportunity. When I say strength, I talk about seeing Rohit Sharma opening the innings along with Quinton de Kock. When I say lost opportunity, I see Rohit Sharma pushing himself to the number four position by asking Surya Kumar Yadav to open the Innings.

Considering RS’s success as an opener, Mumbai Indians need their best player at the top to yield better returns in the IPL. Moreover, these three along with Evin Lewis as back-up give them the title of the best opening squad alongside Chennai Super Kings.

Pace Bowling:

The Mumbai Indians squad is filled with quality pace bowling. They have Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Barinder Sran, and Hardik Pandya as their preferred four pace bowlers while Rasikh Salam, Adam Milne, Jason Behrendorff, and Mitchell McClenaghan provide quality backup options. The only other side to match such quality pace bowling is Sunrisers Hyderabad.

All-Rounders:

The Pandya brothers, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya add tremendous value in all three departments as they are equally good in bowling, batting, and fielding. Ben Cutting and Keiron Pollard are other two good backups available as apart from their strong batting, they can chip in with a few overs whenever required.

WEAKNESSES:

Spinners:

This should not come as a surprise to many as Mumbai Indians lack an experienced mystery spinner. Krunal Pandya, the senior spinner has some good variations, but is not as good as Narine, Kuldeep, or Rashid.

Similarly, Mayank Markhande, who had a mediocre second half of the tournament last year is not a reliable option. Apart from these two, Mumbai Indians don’t have a third good spinner, and that can create some headaches for Rohit Sharma and Co.

CONCLUSION:

Overall, if Mumbai Indians get their combination right, they will be unstoppable. With the presence of a calm and composed leader like Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians will be eyeing their fourth IPL title.

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ALSO READ: IPL 2019: Analyzing Strengths and Weaknesses of Sunrisers Hyderabad

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Adesh Kothari

Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics with over 20 years of experience following Cricket.

Cricket to him is like what Football is to Lionel Messi, Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar, Dancing is to Michael Jackson, and Acting is to Clint Eastwood.

Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.