IPL 2019: Three common factors for Mumbai Indians between 2019 and their title-winning seasons
Mumbai Indians is a team that works all through the year despite Indian Premier League being played only in April-May. Their squad has never been short of the star attraction with the great Sachin Tendulkar at the helm of affairs.
Even in the auction, they have always targeted the big fish in the list. Mumbai have gone on to buy them despite incurring huge amounts of money. Kieron Pollard in 2010, Davy Jacobs in 2011, Richard Levi in 2012, Glenn Maxwell in 2013, Corey Anderson in 2014, and Jos Buttler in 2016 are such examples.
A major highlight in the journey of MI is their talent scout teams. It is a selection crew that goes to the nook and corner of India to find the next breakout star. It was once headed by the former head coach of India, John Wright. It was he who found the young sensation Jasprit Bumrah.
The likes of Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya are some of the finds of the scouting teams who have gone to represent India with some of them playing key roles in the upsurge of the side. To add to that, their support staffs have been top international stars.
A team that is based out of a city with a rich cricketing culture it isn't a surprise that they have been one of the most consistent sides in the history of the IPL. But they struggled in the initial years of the league.
Mumbai failed to qualify for the playoffs in the first two seasons. Although they finished as table-toppers in 2010, they were beaten by Chennai Super Kings in the final. It took six years for MI to win their first IPL crown and they have won two more titles in the next four years.
One thing that is being noticed is the presence of a common pattern in their performances during their title wins. To the delight of the fans of Mumbai, it appears as if those factors seemed to be working in this year as well. Let's look at three factors common between Mumbai's title-winning years and this year.
#1 A newly drafted/replacement player topping the batting charts
2013 - Dinesh Karthik
2015 - Lendl Simmons
2017 - Parthiv Patel
2019 - Quinton de Kock
IPL has an exclusive trade window where players can be either swapped between teams or induct a new player by paying a huge sum. As mentioned earlier, Mumbai has been one of the most proactive teams in the IPL.
Mumbai have capitalized and benefitted some such deals as these players have played key roles in their title-winning years. Dinesh Karthik was roped in for a whopping ₹12.4 crore in 2013. He along with Rohit Sharma scored heaps of runs in the middle order to their maiden title win.
Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel had a similar impact in 2015 and 2017 respectively as they were the leading run-scorers for Mumbai in those years. Both of them were inked through such deals. The Rohit Sharma-led side struck another golden deal by signing wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock in 2019.
The southpaw has been consistent at the top of the order as he is leading the batting charts with 378 runs. With him available for the entire duration of the tournament, his willow could decide the fate of Mumbai.
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