IPL 2015 team preview: Mumbai Indians
By
Shashi Mittal
On
April 07, 2015
Batting strength
Bowling strength
Other notable players:
JR Hazlewood,
Unmukt Chand.
The Mumbai Indians started their last season by losing their first five matches, but were still able to sneak into the knockout stage. Their initial struggles were largely due to the unproductive opening batting pairs they tried in the first few matches. However, once they settled on
Mike Hussey and Lendl Simmons to open the batting, they finally started winning matches. Mike Hussey is no longer with the team, and in his absence Rohit Sharma or Aaron Finch will open the innings with Simmons. Hopefully the Mumbai Indians won't see the struggles with the opening pair that they had last season. And they do have good batsmen stacked up in the middle order as well.
Their bowling attack is led by the indomitable Lasith Malinga, but the remaining fast bowlers in the team do not inspire much confidence. Corey Anderson can pair for the new ball with Malinga provided he makes it to the final eleven. Pragyan Ojha had a forgettable last season and will be looking for a rebound. The bowling unit as a whole had a bowling average of almost 32 last year, but the team hasn't quite plugged in the holes in the bowling attack for this season either.
Roster management: The Mumbai team has as many as eight overseas players on the roster, so they will have to do some juggling for the four overseas spot in the team. Malinga, Finch, Simmons and Pollard will be most likely in the final eleven, and there is a good chance that Pollard gets left out. The team has a good depth at the wicket-keeper position, with three of them in their squad. Ambati Rayudu will don the gloves for the team since he is the best batsmen among those three.
Dark horse: Given the inevitable roster crunch for the overseas players, one of the domestic players will have to step in for the team. Unmukt Chand got generous praises for his poise and excellent batting in the U-19 World Cup, and can be a surprise contributor for the Mumbai Indians if he gets a chance.