MI’s 2022 IPL performance was their worst ever, and they ended up dead last in the standings; therefore, they couldn’t live up to their reputation.
On Sunday, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore will host the match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the five-time champion Mumbai Indians (MI). With five championships under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, his team is the most successful in IPL history. Nevertheless, the five-time winners fell short of expectations in the 2022 season, posting the poorest record in IPL history and finishing dead last in the standings.
In the 2023 auction, MI made some key additions to their roster, so they’ll be eager to get their new campaign underway by winning the championship for the sixth time in franchise history.
MI’s strong batting lineup is one of the team’s greatest assets. MI has the firepower to annihilate any bowling attack on their day thanks to players like Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tristan Stubbs, Tim David, Cameron Green, and Dewald Brevis.
At the 2023 auction, Green was highly sought after as one of the most promising young players in the world. His purchase price of $17.5 million by MI is staggering. After a brief break following the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar series, Green has reunited with his squad and is expected to make his IPL debut in the opening match against RCB.
Suryakumar Yadav’s 360-degree stroke play and savage batting have made him a bowling attack’s worst nightmare in the Indian Premier League. He has batted in over 2600 runs at a strike rate of 136 in 123 matches. A return to form in the IPL would be just what the doctor ordered for the star batsman after his struggles with India in 50-over cricket.
Ishan Kishan has been doing admirably for India this season, as evidenced by his 200 not out. Last year, he scored nearly 400 runs for MI, making him the team’s leading run scorer. In 2022, Tilak was incredible, scoring nearly 400 runs at a strikeout rate of 131. In the forthcoming season, he plans to continue his stellar performance.
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With less than 300 runs scored in 14 games and a strike rate of 120 in 2022, Rohit was a pale imitation of his former great self. In addition to trying to get back in top form for the World Cup, he will be aiming to lead MI to another championship.
Even though MI has a potentially top-tier batting lineup, their bowling attack is near the bottom of the league. Having having had surgery to address a persistent injury, Jasprit Bumrah will miss the entirety of the current campaign.
Jofra Archer is now well and available for MI, but he cannot be relied upon to do all the bowling by himself because he, too, is prone to injuries and would be afraid of suffering another one in the months leading up to the World Cup.
MI’s success this season will depend on the play of young players like Nehal Wadhere, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, and Shams Mulani.
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If MI bats first, Shams Mulani might be substituted for Tilak Verma in the second innings to provide a much-needed offensive boost. If MI choose to bowl first, Vishnu Vinod could replace Kumar Kartikeya as a late-game impact player in the second innings.
MI’s expected XI to play RCB
Rohit Sharma (c) and Ishan Kishan open the innings (wk).
Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma make up the middle order.
Tim David, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, and Hrithik Shokeen are all well-rounded players.
Jofra Archer, Jason Behrendorff, and Kumar Kartikeya were the bowlers.