IPL 2020: Mumbai Indians showed no weakness throughout the tournament, says Shane Watson

Former Australia and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Shane Watson believes that the reason Mumbai Indians won their fifth IPL title, was that they showed no signs of weakness throughout the tournament. Watson believes MI had all bases covered, and had the strongest team in IPL 2020.

With every team strengthening their squad ahead of IPL 2020, there were doubts about whether MI would be able to defend their title. However, they raised the bar and played some exceptional cricket, with many teams finding it difficult to even compete against them, let alone winning. They also broke the jinx of only winning the IPL in odd years, and won their fifth title in eight years.

“Congratulations Mumbai Indians for winning their 5th IPL title. There is no question that Mumbai Indians had the strongest team all the way through IPL 2020. As the IPL continued to evolve, it confirmed to me more and more that Mumbai Indians have no weaknesses. That’s internationally as well, let alone in the IPL," Shane Watson said on his YouTube channel.

"The more the Mumbai Indians played in the tournament, more and more, it felt they had no weaknesses,” Shane Watson added.

If Suryakumar Yadav continues to bat well, it's not going to be too long before he plays for India: Shane Watson

Shane Watson believes that if Suryakumar Yadav continues to be consistent, he will soon receive his maiden India call

Suryakumar Yadav has been a prolific run-scorer for the Mumbai Indians ever since he joined them back in 2018. He again performed exceptionally well this season, scoring 480 runs from 16 games. Thus, many eyebrows were raised when he was not picked in the Indian white-ball squad for the tour to Australia. But Watson is of the opinion that if he continues to bat with such consistency, he will soon get his call-up for the Indian team.

Along with Suryakumar, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, and Ishan Kishan completed a scary top-order for MI. Their consistency was what impressed Watson as they always used to set the platform for the big-hitters like Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard later in the innings.

“They had world-class opening batsmen, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock. Suryakumar Yadav, he continues to bat so well, it’s not going to be too long before he plays for India. And he had a brilliant tournament. And then Ishan Kishan who came in and set the IPL alight as well. Whether he was batting in the middle-overs or opening in the absence of Rohit, he provided so much impetus,” Shane Watson said.

Thus, Shane Watson believes that if MI are able to retain most of their players and play them, they will be an incredibly difficult side to beat in the near future.