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Mumbai Indians are one of the most successful teams of the Indian Premier League. They have won the prestigious IPL title 5 times so far. Mumbai Indians along with Chennai Super Kings have won a majority of IPL titles. Mumbai Indians have gone into the league of their own since Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy of the team from 2013 onwards.
Last Season, MI just felt short and missed the playoffs by the slightest of margins. Mumbai Indians would want to rectify their mistakes from last season and would be aiming for the IPL playoffs.
This year, it was the mega auction and thus MI had to release their champion squad and had to rebuild. MI chose to retain the likes of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Surya Kumar Yadav, and Kieron Pollard. In the mega auction, MI went in hard for their former players but unfortunately missed out getting many of them. After the auction, this MI squad has a new avatar with many youngsters being roped in by the management.
So now with the kind of squad the team has got, what could be the probable XI for Mumbai Indians (MI) for IPL 2022? Let’s find out.
Openers: Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan
Mumbai Indians too had a solid opening pair in Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock. Both Sharma and QDK used to complement each other and they used to set a solid platform for their team. But this year, with De Kock gone to Lucknow, Mumbai Indians were in search of a new partner for Rohit Sharma.
They got their man in Ishan Kishan for a whopping 15.25cr. Rohit and Kishan have opened innings together for MI as well as India. Kishan can play the role of aggressor, allowing Rohit time to settle in or vice versa.
Middle Order: Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Kieron Pollard
In the middle order, Suryakumar Yadav will be in at no.3 for Mumbai Indians. The specialty of Suryakumar is the player who plays according to the need of the hour. He can stabilize your innings if early wickets have fallen, he can also keep the run rate ticking in the middle order with innovative shorts. Also, play the role of finisher if openers give the team a really good start.
Tilak Verma is a player in whom MI management seems to have invested a lot. He has been highly regarded by the management and would definitely get a chance to prove himself at no.4 left vacant by Ishan Kishan. He has the potential to be the breakout star of this season.
At 5, MI has their big West Indian powerhouse, Pollard. No.5 can perfectly suit Kieron Pollard where we can afford to take some time to settle in rather than coming lower down the order where he would have to go all bang-bang from ball one.
All- Rounders: Tim David and Daniel Sams
Now here comes the twist in the MI line-up. Till now Mumbai Indians had a pair of Pandya brothers. Hardik and Krunal Pandya played a vital role in MI's success over the years. But now, both brothers are no longer part of Mumbai Indians and the franchise has got two new faces to replace them.
Tim David has made his name all- over the world as the dashing all-rounder who can win you games on his own. At 6, Tim David looks like a perfect replacement for Hardik, a player who can hit big shots plus who can give his captain 2-3 overs when needed.
At 7, Mumbai Indians got in Daniel Sams who can tonk the ball and can get some quickfire runs when needed. Sams is a left-arm pacer who can swing the ball both ways and can be a useful option to have for any captain.
Bowlers : Jasprit Bumrah , Jaydev Unadkat , Mayank Markande, Tymal Mills
For the past few seasons, bowling was the strength of the Mumbai Indians. But with the likes of Trent Boult, Nathan Coulter Nile, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar all gone, it looks a bit iffy.
No doubt that Mumbai Indians got the deadliest duo in Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer but, unfortunately, for them, Jofra Archer isn’t available for this season.
This season, Jasprit Bumrah will have to lead the attack. Bumrah will be the main man for captain Rohit Sharma. To support Bumrah, Mumbai has got Jaydev Unadkat who on his day can be a very good bowler. In the spin department, with the departure of Rahul Chahar and Piyush Chawla, it has become even weaker. This can be the perfect opportunity for someone like Mayank Markande or Murugun Ashwin to prove himself.
Now for that final spot in the 11, for that third pacer, Mumbai Indians have two options. Tymal Mills was regarded as a death-over specialist back in England. Another is the young Australian pacer Riley Meredith who can bowl 140+ consistently. This selection will purely depend on the condition of the wicket.
