IPL 2022: Predicting the best playing XI for MI for the rest of the season
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) are having a horrible time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. They have played six matches so far, losing all of them. Following their loss at the hands of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), they became only the third IPL team in the history of the tournament to taste defeat in the first six matches of an IPL season. Only Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2013 and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2019 also faced the same ignominy.
Mumbai are paying the price for having an extremely poor IPL auction. They retained Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard ahead of the bidding. At the auction table, they bought back wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, but spent a whopping ₹15.25 crore on him. Several critics have opined that this move, and the one to purchase Jofra Archer for ₹8 crore, even though he was not going to be available this season, significantly hurt the balance of MI’s squad.
MI’s preferred XI for remaining IPL 2022 season
With six consecutive losses, Mumbai's playoff qualification hopes are all but over. But they have a lot of pride to play for. At the same time, don’t expect significant changes in their playing XI for the remaining games as they have hardly any options. We pick what, according to us, should be Mumbai’s preferred XI for most of the remaining games.
Openers: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan
There is not much scope for change at the top of the order. Ishan Kishan began his IPL 2022 campaign by smashing two 50s, but he has since not looked in good touch.
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Skipper Rohit Sharma has registered a highest score of 41 so far, which came in Mumbai’s first match against the Delhi Capitals (DC). Both Ishan and Rohit are proven performers, but will need to find a way to lift their game for the remainder of the season.
Middle order: Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma
The middle order is one area where MI have been impressive in IPL 2022. Dewald Brevis’ inclusion has infused some much-needed life in the batting department. He has played two stunning cameos so far. Although Mumbai would want bigger knocks from him, it would be unfair to expect a lot from the South African as he is still very much a work in progress.
Suryakumar Yadav has once again proved to be pivotal in Mumbai's batting. After missing the first two games with injury, he came in and immediately made a big impact. He has played four matches, registering scores of 52, 68*, 43 and 37. Mumbai will depend heavily on him for the remaining games as well.
There was plenty of hype around Tilak Varma when he was picked by the Mumbai franchise at the auction. The youngster has lived up to the billing with some impressive knocks. In six matches, he has scored 183 runs at an average of 36.60 and a strike rate of 147.58.
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All-rounders: Kieron Pollard, Tim David
West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has been below par in IPL 2022 with the bat. But Mumbai are likely to stick with him because they have no alternative. They can only hope that the Windies limited-overs captain can lift his game in the remaining matches. Also, to be fair to Pollard, by the time he has come in to bat in most games, the result has been more or less a foregone conclusion.
It has been rather surprising that Mumbai have not given an opportunity to all-rounder Tim David after his failures in the first two IPL 2022 matches. He was purchased for ₹8.25 crore at the auction. David’s inclusion will give some extra cushion to the batting. That is the way they need to go considering the paucity of resources in the bowling.
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Riley Meredith, Murugan Ashwin
Jasprit Bumrah is the only one who is an automatic selection in Mumbai's bowling line-up. However, opponents have played him smartly, not taking many risks against him while attacking the rest. He has claimed four wickets in six games at an economy rate of 7.57.
Jaydev Unadkat has done a decent job in the three IPL 2022 matches that he has played. Against LSG, he stood out with figures of two for 32. He has also struck a couple of sixes with the bat and is proving to be handy down the order.
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England’s left-arm seamer Tymal Mills has proved to be extremely expensive. In five matches, he has claimed six wickets, but at an economy rate of 11.18. They might as well try out Australia’s Riley Meredith. At the very least, he will provide that extra pace and could make a better impact.
Mumbai’s spin cupboard is empty as well. Leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin has been their main slow bowler. He has done a decent job, claiming six scalps in as many games at an economy rate of 7.81. MI have Mayank Markande in their squad as well, but expect them to stick with Ashwin for now.