Mumbai Indians are surely one of the most popular teams in the IPL. They have also managed to reach the playoff stages of all IPLs since 2010, while clinching the title in 2013 by defeating the mighty Chennai Super Kings in the final.
But, after their performance in IPL 2014, their think tank were forced into introspection. They started off with five consecutive defeats but somehow made it to the playoff stages by defeating Rajasthan Royals in dramatic fashion where they chased down 190 runs in just 14.4 overs. The results so far are not that bad for this side with one IPL title and two Champions League Twenty20 crowns, but they tend to let it go in the bigger stages.
The questions remains, can their hitman Rohit Sharma lead his side to glory? The team management seemed to have responded well to the problems they faced last season where they lacked perfomances from the big players and they also lacked uncapped players.
This year they have added a number of uncapped players. This was an area where MI needed to work on and it seems they did rework their side.
The big pick at this season's IPL auction for the Mumbai Indians was Australian hard-hitting opener Aaron Finch. He is definitely going to be the X-Factor for this side as he can hit the ball a long way.
Mumbai retained most of their star players from last season as well, giving them continuity. Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga will lead the bowling attack, while MI also managed to rope in R Vinay Kumar from Kolkata Knight Riders in a swap deal. He too will add power to the bowling lineup.
Kieron Pollard will have to prove his worth yet again as has been doing over the years. Corey Anderson will be remembered for his innings against the Rajasthan Royals in their last group league game in 2014. Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood impressed the Australian selectors at the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2015. He will come in handy with the ball as well.
With Rohit leading from the front, MI have a balanced side this season and they will have to carefully choose their playing XI. MI have a squad that can succeed in any conditions and even if they lose players due to injury, they need not worry as they have enough backup in their bench this season.
Mumbai Indians are supposed to begin their campaign against the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday at Eden Gardens.
Key Players: Rohit Sharma and Aaron Finch could turn out to be the most important players in this MI side. Both these batsmen did not have the greatest of World Cups, but on their day they can be quite destructive. Finch will be especially keen to make an impression, having failed to do so in his first stint with the Mumbai Indians.
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