The 5 time champions will begin their Tata IPL 2025 campaign against Arch Rivals Chennai Super Kings at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 23 March.
Mumbai Indians was the best team in the last decade (2011-2020) winning 5 titles in the span of 8 years (with the first title coming in 2013). But the same isn’t true for them in the last 4 seasons where they are unable to clinch even a single trophy, Will they be able to won their thth trophy this season?
Squad Preview
The last season was full of controversies for the men in blue and gold. The sacking of Rohit Sharma as captain saw the management receiving criticism from many of the cricket experts and the fans, too. Mumbai was able to win just 4 of their 14 matches and was at the bottom of the points table.
MI maintained a strong foundation of their squad in the retention phase itself. They had unarguably the strongest retentions. One of the most brilliant minds of this format, their former captain Rohit Sharma brings in his aggressive intent as an opener and leadership qualities. Then, the destructive yet reliable middle-order duo of Tilak Verma and Suryakumar Yadav. Next on the list is their current captain, Hardik Pandya, who is a solid all-round package. Be it opening the innings with the ball, bowling those crucial death overs or finishing the match with the bat, this man can do it all. And the greatest asset any T20 team can have, Jasprit Bumrah.
Talking about the batting itself, they have a formidable lineup. Rohit and Rickelton will probably open the innings. We have already witnessed Rohit’s batting capability, even at this age, in the recently held T20 World Cup. Ryan has also been a proven performer, evident in his number as an opener (36 average, 149 SR). Tilak and Surya are both in the top 5 batters of the ICC Men’s T20I rankings. They have been consistent performers for MI in IPL in the last few years as well.
Coming to the bowling part, they have one of the best pace attacks across the league, comprising the likes of Chahar, Boult and Bumrah in the pace department. Since his debut in IPL, Chahar has taken the second most wickets (58) by any bowler in the powerplay overs. On the first is no other but his bowling buddy Trent Boult with 61 wickets. These two bowling the initial overs for any team together is no less than a nightmare for all opponents. And even if someone survives them, they have to face the final boss of T20 bowling, Jasprit Bumrah. The player of the 2024 World T20 tournament and the T20I player of the year, this man is in the form of his life. Facing the MI pace attack won’t be an easy job for any opposition.
One of the primary concerns of this superteam is the lack of experience on their bench. Apart from Topley and Mujeeb, no player (outside their probable main XI) has played even 25 matches in this format. This might be a challenge for them, considering the number of injury-prone players in their main team.
Strengths
Indian Batting Core: MI retained 5 Indian players, 3 of whom are proper batters and the fourth a batting all-rounder. Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, and Hardik Pandya form a formidable Indian batting core a team wishes to have with them. This allows them to have multiple overseas options as an all-rounder or bowler.
Powerplay Bowling: “Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust, if Thomson don’t get ya, Lillee must.” Thinking of Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult bowling in powerplay reminds me of this famous Ashes quote. They are by far the best powerplay bowlers in IPL, and them bowling in tandem will terrorize the opponents like nothing else. Moreover, they also have the option of Mitchell Santner as a powerplay bowler whenever required.
Weaknesses
Death Bowling: Looking at their numbers in the last season or any other season, you won’t even think of labeling this an issue, though everyone knew it was primarily because of Bumrah’s masterclass in death overs in almost every game. This season, he won’t be at least available in the first 3 games, and his availability in further matches is not confirmed as of now. Chahar and Boult; both very great new ball bowlers as discussed but they are not the death bowlers any team would want, So Mumbai is only left with the option of using Hardik, along with Bosch in the death and we have to see how it works, if it works!!
Wicket Taking in Middle Overs: In the 2024 season, MI had the worst bowling average in middle overs (41.37), with no other team averaging over 40 in this phase; this was because of a lack of quality spinner and probably a pacer who can strike in the middle, now even though MI has now 2 spinners in their primary XI, one of them is known for his defensive bowling while the other being a flop in the previous season’ bowling at an economy of over 10 and striking even less than 1 wickets per game. Again, it depends on how the pacer they use in middle overs fared up for them.
