Key player to playing 11: Know about Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2020

In IPL 2020, batting would be MI's strength with Rohit, de Kock as an opener along with Suryakumar, Pandya brothers, and Pollard in the middle-order. Check MI playing 11, squad, and full schedule here

A batting line-up dotted with big-hitters makes Mumbai Indians (MI) a formidable outfit but the absence of quality spinners and pace veteran Lasith Malinga could hurt defending champions’ title defence in 13^th edition of Indian Premier league (IPL 2020). The side will take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2020 opener on September 19.
 
The team will play most of its matches on the slow tracks of Abu Dhabi (8) and adapting to that challenge would be the key to its fortunes.

Check 2020 IPL latest news and live score updates here

Mumbai Indians playing 11 prediction
 
MI tentative playing 11: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Mitchell McLenaghan, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah.
 
MI batsmen combination
 
Batting would be MI's strength with skipper Rohit Sharma, South African Quinton de Kock making for a solid opening pair. Additionally, Australian Chris Lynn also gives them an option for the slot if need be.
 
Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, who is returning from an injury break, and Krunal Pandya make for a formidable middle-order. Given that all of them are big-hitters, Mumbai will have a distinct advantage over others.
 

Jasprit Bumarh was MI's leading wicket-taker in IPL 2019 with 19 scalps.. Photo: PTI

MI bowlers’ combination
 
The main problems for Mumbai based franchise could lie in figuring out the right bowling combination, especially in the spin department.
 
On the pace front, with no Malinga, who has pulled out citing personal reasons, Jasprit Bumrah will be under pressure, coming back after a lengthy injury layoff. He was MI's leading wicket-taker in IPL 2019 with 19 scalps.
 
Among foreign pacers, Mitchell McLenaghan and Trent Boult give them left-arm option while Nathan Coulter Nile would be their bowling all-rounder. Australian James Pattinson adds to the options, making selection a tough call.

Check CSK playing 11 prediction here

WEAKNESSES: Lack of spinners could dent MI chances in IPL 2020
 
But, all in all, it is the lack of quality spinners that is likely to hurt one of the strongest title contenders. The Mumbai-based franchise has Krunal, who is more of a restrictive option, and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, one of the finds of last edition. Off-spinner Jayant Yadav didn't have a great run in the last domestic season, so, it remains to be seen how many games he gets in IPL 2020.
 
MI’s key player in IPL 2020
 
All of this might ensure that Caribbean star Kieron Pollard starts bowling his full quota of overs, which he wasn't doing regularly in the past few seasons. He picked up four wickets for Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League final, changing the complexion of the game.

Check 2020 IPL full schedule here

Pollard has also smashed 176 sixes in IPL which is the highest by any MI player. File photo: PTI

Pollard IPL record
 
In his 10-year stint with MI so far, the 33-year-old has scored 2,755 runs at a strike rate of 146.77. Pollard has also smashed 176 sixes in IPL which is the highest by any MI player.
 
Last year, he even captained the franchise when Rohit was ruled out due to injury. The imposing player smashed magnificent 83 (31) as MI registered its highest successful run chase at home.
 
MI head coach on Rohit Sharma as a captain
 
Coach Mahela Jayawardane, in a recent interview, put his faith in Rohit's instinctive leadership. He said the easy-going batsman also likes to accumulate as much information as possible about the opposition.
 
"...as long as you are prepared and you are instinctively making those calls and being proactive, that's all that you can ask from him and Ro (Rohit) is brilliant in that," the Sri Lankan great had said.

Check 2020 IPL points table and team standings here

Here is the full the squad of Mumbai Indians:

Player	Team	Retained/bought/traded	Price (Rs cr)
Aditya Tare	MI	Retained	0.20
Anmolpreet Singh	MI	Retained	0.80
Anukul Roy	MI	Retained	0.20
Chris Lynn	MI	Bought	2.00
Dhawal Kulkarni	MI	Traded in	0.75
Digvijay Deshmukh (uncapped)	MI	Bought	0.20
Hardik Pandya	MI	Retained	11.00
Ishan Kishan	MI	Retained	6.20
Jasprit Bumrah	MI	Retained	7.00
Jayant Yadav	MI	Retained	0.50
Kieron Pollard	MI	Retained	5.40
Krunal Pandya	MI	Retained	8.80
James Pattinson	MI	Replaced Malinga	1.00
Mitchell McClenaghan	MI	Retained	1.00
Mohsin Khan (uncapped)	MI	Bought	0.20
Nathan Coulter-Nile	MI	Bought	8.00
Prince Balwant Rai Singh (uncapped)	MI	Bought	0.20
Quinton de Kock	MI	Retained	2.80
Rahul Chahar	MI	Retained	1.90
Rohit Sharma	MI	Retained	15.00
Saurabh Tiwary	MI	Bought	0.50
Sherfane Rutherford	MI	Traded in	2.00
Suryakumar Yadav	MI	Retained	3.20
Trent Boult	MI	Traded in	3.20

Check MI’s new IPL 2020 full schedule here:

MI FULL SCHEDULE FOR IPL 2020
DATE	DAY	Matches	IST	UAE	VENUE
19-Sep-20	SAT	MI vs CSK	7:30PM	6:00PM	ABU DHABI
23-Sep-20	WED	KKR vs MI	7:30PM	6:00PM	ABU DHABI
28-Sep-20	MON	RCB vs MI	7:30PM	6:00PM	DUBAI
1-Oct-20	THU	KXIP vs MI	7:30PM	6:00PM	ABU DHABI
4-Oct-20	SUN	MI vs SRH	3:30PM	2:00PM	SHARJAH
6-Oct-20	TUE	MI vs RR	7:30PM	6:00PM	ABU DHABI
11-Oct-20	SUN	MI vs DC	7:30PM	6:00PM	ABU DHABI
16-Oct-20	FRI	MI vs KKR	7:30PM	6:00PM	ABU DHABI
18-Oct-20	SUN	MI vs KXIP	7:30PM	6:00PM	DUBAI
23-Oct-20	FRI	CSK vs MI	7:30PM	6:00PM	SHARJAH
25-Oct-20	SUN	RR vs MI	7:30PM	6:00PM	ABU DHABI
28-Oct-20	WED	MI vs RCB	7:30PM	6:00PM	ABU DHABI
31-Oct-20	SAT	DC vs MI	3:30PM	2:00PM	DUBAI
3-Nov-20	TUE	SRH vs MI	7:30PM	6:00PM	SHARJAH