IPL 2021: "The Mumbai Indians have just the one problem" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra believes the Mumbai Indians (MI) are likely to dominate the second leg of IPL 2021. However, he highlighted that there is one problem area they will need to overcome.
The Mumbai Indians got off to a rather poor start in the first half of IPL 2021. They suffered reversals in three of their first five matches before bouncing back to win the last two.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the Mumbai Indians cannot afford a slow start this time around. He said:
"The Mumbai Indians are at No.4 at the moment, that spot does not suit them. They have just the one problem, that they start a new tournament slowly, they will have to change that."
However, the former India cricketer added that the Mumbai Indians seem to have all the bases covered and can even manage without playing their full quota of overseas players in the playing XI. Chopra observed:
"But then they pick up. If they want, this is the team that does not require to play four overseas players. Everything looks absolutely hunky-dory when we talk about the Mumbai franchise."
The Mumbai Indians certainly have immense depth in their Indian lineup. Six of their players are part of the Indian squad named for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
"The Mumbai Indians will just start steamrolling the opposition" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra expects the Mumbai Indians to be the dominant team in the UAE leg of IPL 2021. He elaborated:
"They are actually like one of the best teams, perhaps the best T20 team on the planet if we talk about franchise cricket. They will just start steamrolling the opposition."
The 43-year-old signed off by pointing out that the Mumbai Indians have a plethora of star Indian players, including their in-form skipper Rohit Sharma. Chopra stated:
"Rohit Sharma - the kind of form that the guy is in. He is going to be the captain. Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Chahar - they are all in the World Cup team. They have Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya."
Krunal Pandya is the only one among the aforementioned players who does not figure in India's squad for the T20 World Cup. While Kieron Pollard, Quinton de Kock and Trent Boult are certainties in their playing XI, they are likely to choose between Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Marco Jansen as their fourth overseas player.