2013 Champions League T20 team preview: Mumbai Indians

Can the Mumbai Indians win the CLT20?

When it comes to fans support across the world, none of the teams can overtake Mumbai Indians. The main reason for this is the presence of Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar.

Along with Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians has been the most stable team in Champions League T20. In 2011, Mumbai was crowned as the CLT20 Champions sans some big names in their ranks and now in 2013, they have qualified for the tournament on the virtue of being the champions of IPL-6.

They won the IPL courtesy some brilliant performances throughout the league stage and an exceptional show in the finals against CSK. Their Caribbean star, Keiron Pollard, scored a swashbuckling fifty and Lasith Malinga opened the floodgates with 2 wickets in the very first over of CSK’s innings as Mumbai defeated Chennai by 23 runs.

Here is the complete analysis of Mumbai Indians as they look to continue their domination in CLT20 as they look to give their star player Sachin Tendulkar a fitting farewell from all forms of T20 Cricket.

Squad:

Captain: Rohit Sharma

Coach: John Wright.

Batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu.

All Rounders: Keiron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Rishi Dhawan.

Bowlers: Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Abu Nechim, Akshar Patel, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Johnson.

Wicket Keeper: Dinesh Karthik, Aditya Tare.

Strengths:

Right mix of youth and experience
Solid middle order comprising of Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthick, Kieron Pollard, Glenn Maxwell and Ambati Rayudu
Can chase up huge totals at will
Perfect balance in their squad
Have some world’s best fielders like Rohit, Pollard, Smith and Rayudu
Presence of quality Indian spinners in their ranks.

Weakness:

Absence of Lasith Malinga
Choking at crucial stages of the tournament
Players in their team tend to be complacent
Form of Harbhajan Singh is a worry
Sachin Tendulkar is back to the field after 5 months so, he might be short of match practice.

X-Factor: Keiron Pollard

In the 2009 edition of CLT20, a night before Diwali, Keiron Pollard showcased his hard hitting skills to the cricket world. He provided the spectators with some breath-taking fireworks from his bat as he smashed the hapless New South Wales Blues bowlers to all parts of the ground en route to a flamboyant 18 ball 54 that helped his team to an unlikely win.

Since then, Pollard has become the most sought after cricketer in T20 circuit. He has been an important member of the Mumbai Indians squad since he was bought by the Mukesh Ambani owned IPL franchise in 2010. He add a lot of value to the team and brings a number of skills to the table. He is a power-hitter who can hit the ball miles into the crowd with ease and also is capable of chipping in with the ball.

However, the biggest plus is his fielding. Keiron Pollard is an acrobatic fielder and takes some impossible catches with extreme ease. In simple words, he is a complete package needed for T20 cricket. He is the guy who can turn the match on its head and Mumbai will expect Pollard to come good in CLT20.

Players to watch out for:

Lasith Malinga has been Mumbai’s go to man for the past 5 years. He has provided them with crucial wickets early on in the innings as well as in the slog overs. He was also the leading wicket taker in the history of the IPL. Mumbai’s bowling lineup revolves around the pacemen but the IPL champions are set to miss the service of the Sri Lankan, who ruled himself out of the CLT20 due to an injury.

Mitchell Johnson:

In his absence, Mumbai’s bowling workload would be heavily dependent on the Australian left-armer Mitchell Johnson. Johnson, who has been in and out of the Australian team for the past three years, had a terrific IPL this season. He has worked on his bowling action, got his swing back and is raring to go. His is determined to perform well in the CLT20 as he has a point to prove to the Australian selectors who ignored him for the 2013 Ashes.