IPL 2020: SWOT Analysis of Mumbai Indians

MI in IPL 2020: Threats

Will Ishan Kishan be forced to warm the bench in IPL 2020?

#1 MI have a shambolic record in the UAE

The first leg of the 2014 IPL was held in the UAE due to general elections in India, and MI had a horrific outing in the Middle East. They didn't register a single win in the 5 matches that they played in the UAE, with all other teams managing to win at least two.

Despite their disastrous start, however, MI recovered well to finish fourth on the points table at the end of the league phase and qualify for the playoffs, where they lost to CSK in the Eliminator by 7 wickets.

The reason behind MI's poor record in the UAE can't be ascertained very easily but in a tournament where adaptability to the conditions will be paramount, they might be at a significant disadvantage.

#2 MI don't have tried-and-tested IPL players on the bench

Given that IPL 2020 is the first cricketing action that most MI players will see in a while, it would be difficult for them to play all 14 group stage games. The fact that there are 10 double-headers in this year's IPL doesn't bode well, apart from the sweltering heat in the UAE that is bound to take a toll on the players.

A cursory look at the MI squad for IPL 2020 will be enough to ascertain that they can't afford to rest their key players as frequently as they'd like, especially the fast bowlers. Should Jasprit Bumrah need a break, the pace attack will look extremely weak.

Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai, Digvijay Deshmukh and Anmolpreet Singh are almost entirely untested at the IPL level, while Saurabh Tiwary and Aditya Tare haven't seen regular action in the tournament in some time now.

Should MI suffer from injuries or fatigue, they just don't have the bench strength to rest their players.

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