2013 Champions League T20: Team Preview - Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians have always been a formidable force in all the editions of Indian Premier League and have gone on to realise their true potential by winning the 6th edition of the lucrative league.

Having a squad that boasts of the big hitting pollard, possibly the greatest T20 bowler in “Slinga” Malinga, maturing Rohit Sharma and the new inclusion of Mitchell Johnson is a chock a block side on any given day. Also, having won the Champions League already in 2011 will give them more than just an outside chance.

Possibly the weakest link concerning the Mumbai Indians’ squad is their highly unstable and unsettled opening combination throughout all of the IPL editions. They haven’t been able to find an ideal partner for Sachin Tendulkar, and although Dwayne Smith has been reasonably successful in the last couple of IPL seasons, his partnership with Sachin Tendulkar hasn’t really solved the issue as such. So, at the top of that Mumbai Indians check list should be their opening combination.

Coming to the middle order, Rohit Sharma at No.3 has made big runs in the last couple of seasons and captaining Mumbai to their first IPL title should give him a great deal of confidence. Dinesh Karthick at No.4 again is an attacking option on the batting front and on his day, he can take any bowling attack apart, and the ever so hardworking and reliable Ambati Rayudu at No.5 should stand them in good stead even if they lose a couple of early wickets.

In the past, whenever Mumbai Indians’ openers failed to get the team off to a good start, it was the trio of Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthick (DK) and Rayudu who bailed them out time and time again.

Add to that dependable middle order the tall and unforgiving power of Pollard, and it will give Mumbai Indians the most necessary launch pad in the latter end of the innings. So that is already an imperious batting line-up among all the participating teams in the competition.

Talking about the bowling lineup, I feel Malinga, Johnson, Rishi Dhawan, Harbhajan and Ojha will be automatic choices when Mumbai come up against Dravid’s Rajasthan Royals in 10 days time.

Malinga is an automatic choice in any T20 side. His stump to stump bowling to go with his yorkers and deceptive slower deliveries will test any batting line up. Mitchell Johnson’s pace bowling was one of the crucial elements in MI winning the IPL title and his handy slogging abilities should confirm him a spot as well. Harbhajan will be the lead spinner in the bowling attack and should have Ojha alongside him as the second spinner. Ojha certainly deserves a place for his consistency and the crucial wickets that he provided MI throughout the title winning IPL campaign.

Probable MI 11 for the 1st game against RR: S Tendulkar, D Smith, R Sharma, D Karthick, A Rayudu, K Pollard, G Maxwell/ R Dhawan, H Singh, M Johnson, L Malinga & Ojha.

From my point of view, I have a strong feeling that this will be the starting 11 and maybe, just maybe, Maxwell could tip Rishi Dhawan for that all-rounder’ spot. But considering Jaipur and the size of the ground on offer, the MI think tank would not want to risk Maxwell for his spinning abilities and be a bowler short.

The Mumbai Indians’ bench strength, comprising of Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aditya Tare, Abu Nechim and the youngster Akshar Patel, doesn’t look good. Coulter-Nile could be tried out in any one of those league games, maybe in place of Johnson. Aditya Tare did himself no harm when he was given the opportunity in Tendulkar’s absence by piling up some crucial runs; Abu Nechim has been a regular feature of that Mumbai Indians setup, and it’d be interesting to see whether he gets a game in such a star-studded lineup and in Akshar Patel, you don’t know what he is capable of as yet.

So, the bench, as such, does not have any big names to turn to if any one those first choices do not get off to a good start, and that could concern the team management. Apart from that, on paper, MI look the stronger side and it’s over to performances on the field that will matter. Remember that Ponting isn’t available for the tournament.

Probably, the most crucial thing for Mumbai Indians is to get off to a good start. Because, they are racked up against some serious heavyweights in the form of Highveld Lions, who have tormented them the last couple of times these teams faced off against each other. Perth Scorchers led by Simon Katich are a dangerous T20 side as well, and Rajasthan Royals are no unknown commodity as far as MI are concerned. But, for the firepower that Mumbai Indians possess, I don’t think any team should faze them as such if they play to their full potential.

As their ardent supporter, I strongly back them to get through their group and once they do that, they should be strong contenders for the title.

ALA RE ALA!