3 reasons why Mumbai Indians can defend their title in WPL 2024
The Mumbai Indians (MI) will kickstart the WPL 2024 campaign against the Delhi Capitals (DC) in a repeat of last year's thrilling final. MI had beaten DC in the final by seven wickets to claim the inaugural WPL crown and will be gunning to repeat the feat.
All five teams have made some fine additions in the WPL 2024 auction and the gulf in the quality between them seems nominal. However, Mumbai will once again go into the tournament as one of the contenders, given the sheer quality they have across all departments.
There's a great mix of local and overseas players which always comes in handy in terms of rubbing the good qualities off each other. Here are three reasons why MI have what it takes to seal back-to-back WPL titles:
#3 MI might spring some hidden gems
Mumbai Indians, ever since the beginning of their franchise's success at the IPL, have had a reputation for picking some unearthed gems at the auctions. Some of them became breakout stars and the same can be said about WPL too with Saika Ishaque in WPL 2023. MI would be hopeful of more of the same this time around.
They have once again made some exciting signings, like leg-spinner Keerthana Balakrishnan and left-arm wrist-spinner Amandeep Kaur, who could take the tournament by storm. They could be just the X-factor MI need to have another incredible campaign.
#2 Quality backups
MI have some quality players in both Indian and overseas departments, which sometimes brings the factor of overdependency. However, they have strengthened their squad with backups in the auction.
Mumbai bagged South African legend Shabnim Ismail and her raw pace could be more than handy even if they use her as a backup for Issy Wong. Ismail's compatriot Chloe Tryon also is a quality backup for the all-rounders in the team, which brings us to the biggest reason.
#1 Balance and experience
The phrase "been there, done that" sits rightly with the Mumbai Indians as they were challenged several times in the previous season. They had to be at their best while chasing a modest total of 132 against DC and that experience from the biggest stage would help some of their local players.
The nucleus of the team with all-rounders Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr Hayley Matthews, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is capable of single-handedly taking them to the summit once again. It almost seems like other teams will need to be at their best if they want to spoil Mumbai's party in the upcoming season.