Mumbai aim to defend IPL crown
new delhi — With a fairly new-look side under the leadership of Rohit Sharma for this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians will be determined to defend the crown they won last season.
Apart from Rohit, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, West Indies star Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya have been retained from last year.
Pandya and Bumrah were retained in the first-ever player retention event in January.
The defending champions later used the Right to Match (RTM) card to keep Pollard and Krunal in the squad.
However, some players who played key roles in Mumbai’s success last season like Nitish Rana, Harbhajan Singh and Mitchell McClenaghan have not been retained.
For this season, Mumbai have embellished their squad with left-handed West Indies opener Evin Lewis, young wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and promising uncapped Indian batsman Suryakumar Yadav.
While Rohit has not been consistent in the five-day format, he has proved himself in limited-overs cricket and will be expected to lead Mumbai’s batting effort from the front along with the Pandya brothers Hardik and Krunal.
With South African star JeanPaul Duminy also a part of the mix, the Mumbai batting lineup has the power and flair to create problems for any bowling attack in the IPL.
The Mumbai pace bowling department is also promising this year with the likes of Bumrah, Pat Cummins and Mustafizur Rahman.
Cummins has been in good form during Australia’s ongoing tour of South Africa while Bumrah — known for his excellent death overs bowling — has played a key role for the Indian team recently in all formats. —