IPL 2018: 5 Players Mumbai Indians should pursue for the 2019 season
Coming into IPL 2018, Mumbai Indians were the defending champions of the Indian Premier League and were the only side to have won the title thrice. The team had a lot of expectations to meet this year but their on-field performance was poor.
The Rohit Sharma-led side struggled in the opening few games, winning only one out of their first six games. The team has traditionally been a slow starter but they usually catch up in the end. This year though, the competition was immense and it was difficult for the side to catch up with the likes of CSK, SRH and KKR.
The team faced a number of problems were unable to sort it out right until the end of the tournament. The side had a slot for a second foreign pacer but McClenaghan was inconsistent in that role throughout the season. Mumbai Indians also had problems with their second spinner as Krunal Pandya was ineffective.
Lack of quality spinners was another problem which Mumbai faced in the latter half of the tournament when batsmen started reading Markande and it became difficult for the youngster to pick wickets.
The biggest problem for the team though was in finishing the innings with the bat as Pollard failed repeatedly and the Pandya brothers were inconsistent. The team would be looking to get some of the following players to sort out their problems.
#5 Murugan Ashwin
Murugan Ashwin is one of the most talented spinners in India at present. He was a part of the Rising Pune Super Giants side in 2016 and was phenomenal in the first season. He wasn't at his best in 2017 but had still done enough to be bought by RCB for a decent price.
Ashwin has the ability to turn the ball a long way and if he is utilised properly he can be a great bowler, but Kohli was hesitant in having him in the team. He played in just two games this year and was extremely impressive in those games picking up three wickets.
Mumbai didn't have a quality spinner as Markande faded out in the second half of the competition and was totally ineffective in the last few matches. Ashwin can be a great addition to this squad and with Rohit's brilliant ability to use spinners effectively, this move could also be a good one for the bowler.