IPL 2019: Can Mumbai Indians put their failures of 2018 behind them and get back to winning ways?

As I munch on my wada pav and think about how this year's IPL might unfold, there is really only one team to start with: the eternal favourites Mumbai Indians. So here goes.

The Mumbai Indians of this year should have no expectations from anyone since they failed spectacularly last year, and it's pretty much the same team this time around. But since they are the Mumbai Indians, there will always be expectations. Some teams, like the NY Yankees and the Mumbai Indians, just cannot run away from expectations and the spotlight.

Overall, they have retained the core of last year and there are no obvious gaps in this team. It is a superstar XI with excellent skill players available for all 11 positions.

The openers

Rohit Sharma is the Mumbai Indians' face, form and result. He got off to a slow start last year, and the team followed him. He is the talisman of this team.

Evin Lewis will most likely be the other opener. He is capable of big hitting as well as playing a long innings, and the left-right pairing with Rohit always helps.

Other candidates include Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav or Quinton de Kock (depending on the foreigner quota). Aditya Tare was tried as an opener last year for a few games but with the choices available this year, I don't see him being used there.

The middle order

This is where MI steal the show. The riches they have here is astounding. Look at the names below:

Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Yuvraj Singh.

Picking 4 from these is a coach's delight, and these picks are the ones which will also determine how the 4 foreigners quota is balanced. The most likely picks I see them making are:

Quinton de Kock

Suryakumar Yadav

Hardik Pandya

Krunal Pandya

Now Pollard has been MI's pet child since the inception of IPL, and they have kept retaining him, so it makes sense to play him for his electric fielding and impact batting. That makes him a solid No. 7 in this team.

Between the Pandya brothers and Pollard, MI have tremendous firepower for the last 5-8 overs. Coffee or no coffee, Hardik is still the king of IPL and along with his brother, is a true Indian find of the IPL generation.

The brothers contribute in all three departments - batting, bowling and fielding - so it makes them truly indispensable to the MI culture.

I honestly don't know why MI picked up Yuvraj this year, as his performance has been going down meteorically with every passing year. He will be on the bench the first few games and might get looked at later depending on the form of the first XI.

De Kock, Kishan and Yadav are backups other teams would kill for. And playing 2 out of these 3 in every match gives them nice rotation and still keeps the team strong.

The bowlers or rather 'the slingers'

The first name penciled in here is Jasprit Bumrah, and he will hold the key to MI's performance this season. A large part of the team's losses last year was down to Bumrah's inability to bowl those toe crushing yorkers consistently at the end.

Partnering him might be the noodled hair man a.k.a. Lasith Malinga, who is back as a player this year after being a bowling coach last year. Between Malinga and Bumrah, the last 4 overs are going to be a riot to watch and the opposition batsmen better wear extra padding on their toes.

Mayank Markande has been selected to the Indian team this season based on his performance for MI last season, which means he is definitely in the playing XI now.

That gives Mumbai two good spinners in Markande and Krunal. And it also gives them three good pacers in Bumrah, Malinga and Hardik.

MI got Jason Behrendoff this season who, along with Adam Milne and Mitchell McClenaghan, give them an excellent foreigner backup for Malinga. McClenaghan especially has shown the knack of picking up wickets in almost every match he has played for MI, so will be pressing hard for a spot in the XI.

Summary

This is how I see the playing XI of MI to start with:

Rohit Sharma

Evin Lewis (F)

Quinton de Kock (F)

Suryakumar Yadav

Ishan Kishan

Hardik Pandya

Krunal Pandya

Keiron Pollard (F)

Mayank Markande

Lasith Malinga (F)

Jasprit Bumrah

This is an XI capable of taking on international teams. Firepower at the top, more firepower in the middle order and devastating firepower in the bowling.

They have the potential to easily finish in the top 4 this year, though the early matches (as every single year has shown) will determine where they end up. They are the worst starters in IPL, and having the best finishing kick will only help if you stay afloat long enough.

MI have backups for every single position, and managing injuries and player rotations should not be a problem. Like every year, it will come down to momentum in the end, as this team can steamroll anyone once they are on top.