5 players Mumbai Indians would want to retain
It has been a dream season for the Mumbai Indians. They dominated right through the league stage, winning 10 of their 14 matches and finished on top of the table to qualify for the playoffs. There was a minor hiccup when they lost to the Rising Pune Supergiant in the first Qualifier, but that didn’t deter their winning mentality.
Rohit Sharma and co. came back strong in the second Qualifier to make their way into the final where Mumbai defended a low score and won by the narrowest of margins to lift the coveted title for a record third time.
Now, that the victory has sunk in, it is time to look ahead, it is time to plan for the future. With no assurances as to whether or not the franchises would be allowed to retain any player, there have been reports that a right to match card might be the only option for holding on to the coveted players.
However, if the teams are allowed to retain some of their star players, which players would Mumbai like to hold on to? Here we take a look at five players that the defending champions might just want to retain.
#5 Nitish Rana
Every season of IPL gives birth to a new young star. This season, it was the young Nitish Rana who grabbed everyone’s attention. With Rohit Sharma coming down at No. 4, Mumbai needed someone in the top order who would fire on a consistent basis and thankfully for Mumbai, Rana was the one to answer the call – especially in the early part of the campaign.
The 23-year-old left-handed batsman did the star turn for his team on numerous occasions and justified his inclusion. In 13 matches, he scored 333 runs at an average of 30.27 with three half-centuries.
What stood out was the way he conducted himself during his knocks, hitting boundaries when needed and rotating the strike at will. Although his form faltered a little towards the end of the season, Rana has proven to be a name that one should keep a keen eye on in the years to come.