Mumbai Indians predicted XI for IPL 2021
The Mumbai Indians (MI) solidified their standing as the greatest franchise in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year. Rohit Sharma's men lifted their 5th title with a facile victory over the Delhi Capitals in the final.
MI have made some smart acquisitions in the IPL 2021 auction, and strengthened their roster by bringing in backup options Piyush Chawla and Adam Milne. They bought Nathan Coulter-Nile back on a cheaper contract, apart from overseas all-rounders Jimmy Neesham and Marco Jansen.
Youngsters Yudhvir Singh and Arjun Tendulkar also found a place in the MI squad for IPL 2021.
MI's predicted playing XI for IPL 2021
This year's IPL is still months away, but we attempt to predict what MI's ideal playing XI will look like.
MI's squad for IPL 2021: Rohit Sharma, Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Mohsin Khan, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Marco Jansen, Yudhvir Singh, James Neesham, Arjun Tendulkar
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk)
The opening combination is all but decided for MI. Captain Rohit Sharma and wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock are beyond ideal at the top of the order.
Rohit missed a few games due to injury last year, and didn't pile on the runs when he was fit either. But he proved his immense value to the side with his astute captaincy and a game-changing fifty in the final.
De Kock started off slowly in IPL 2020 and threw away a number of promising starts, but grew into his own midway through the tournament. He can't take his place in the XI for granted, as Ishan Kishan can don the gloves and Chris Lynn is breathing down his neck from the bench.