MI SWOT analysis for IPL 2024: Mumbai Indians target title with Hardik Pandya back, this time as leader

Few teams have hogged the limelight in the build-up to the 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as much as the Mumbai Indians (MI) have, thanks to Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya’s high-profile, all-cash trade back to the franchise where he began his IPL journey in 2015, and then subsequently taking over the reins of the franchise from Rohit Sharma .

It is the kind of development that can be described as “earth-shattering” for cricket fans, especially those who follow the IPL. For starters, it would’ve been nothing short of a heist for MI to secure Pandya from the Titans, given the all-rounder would’ve been a vital cog in GT’s short as well as long-term goals. MI would then raise even more eyebrows by having Pandya replace Rohit, the man responsible for leading the franchise to five titles.

Read | MI head coach explains why Pandya replaced Rohit as captain

MI certainly are one of the most decorated franchises in the history of the world’s biggest T20 league and are right up there with Chennai Super Kings on trophy count as well as in terms of their overall win-to-loss ratio. And it doesn’t matter whether they win the tournament in the previous year or not, MI somehow end up featuring in the favourites list, thanks to the sheer quality in their ranks across departments.

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The recent drama, however, will have left a sour taste in the mouths of MI fans as well as some of the players, especially the seniors who are part of the team’s core. However, whether they can put all of that behind them and work together like a well-oiled unit as they have for a majority of the last decade will determine how far they can go this year.

Strengths

Much like their arch-rivals CSK, who have caught up with them on trophy count after their triumph last season, MI’s success in the IPL as well as in the CLT20 largely comes down to their ability to have a solid core group in place. It was the group led by Rohit and comprising Kieron Pollard, the Pandya brothers, Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga that played a key role in MI’s trophy-laden years in the 2010s, and the franchise is looking to build a similar core group for the future revolving around captain Pandya, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Tim David, Suryakumar Yadav among others.

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And not only is their batting lineup packed with power-hitters and 360-degree players with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, David and skipper Pandya in the middle order, it is their pace department that got a major boost in the IPL player auction. Not only do MI have the luxury of having Jasprit Bumrah as the leader of their attack, they’ve further strengthened that department by acquiring the services of South Africa’s Gerald Coetzee and Sri Lanka’s Dilshan Madushanka, who were among the top wicket-takers in last year’s World Cup.

As for the leadership part, Pandya has proven himself to be just as capable a leader, having led the Gujarat Titans to the title on debut in 2022 followed by a runner-up finish the following season, and the franchise can expect him to work on team strategy with ex-captain Rohit and head coach Mark Boucher and bring more trophies in the future.

Weaknesses

While MI have nearly all of their bases covered heading into the 17th season, it is in the role of an overseas spin-bowling all-rounder where the franchise have might their doubts. They would’ve had their sights on Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga, who had surprisingly been released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the likes of Josh Hazlewood ahead of the player auction. Hasaranga was eventually signed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), surprisingly at his base price of Rs 1.5 crore, while MI went for senior Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi.

Nabi’s been a match-winner for the Afghans for more than a decade now and has also set the stage on fire in the IPL as well, especially when he was part of the SRH camp. But Nabi’s catching up on age and is nearly 40 years of age heading into IPL 2024. While no one is questioning his class, there will be doubts over his form unless he’s able to dispel them with bat and/or ball.

Opportunities

Pandya’s ‘homecoming’ to the Mumbai Indians does come as great news for the team and gives a lot of flexibility to the side both in terms of their batting and bowling combinations, making him the perfect replacement for Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who was among MI’s top performers last season and played a crucial role in propelling them to the playoffs.

Pandya is expected to form the kind of solid middle-order bonding with David as he did back in the day with Pollard. The presence of SKY, either at one-down or at No 4, along with the likes of Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Dewald Brevis and even all-rounders Nabi and Romario Shepherd gives MI plenty of options for their middle order.

It was their middle order that played a crucial role in the team’s success in the past. And the way things are shaping up at present, it could very well play a critical role in guiding the team to a sixth title.

Threat

As crucial as the middle-order’s role is, the spotlight will also be firmly fixed on Rohit and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan at the top of the order, with MI likely to continue with their tried-and-tested opening combination unless Pandya sees things differently.

Though he has been scoring truckloads of runs across formats in recent years, including a century in the third T20I against Afghanistan in January, and was in roaring form as an opener in last year’s World Cup, Rohit’s numbers in recent editions of the IPL leaves a lot to be desired for.

Additionally, Kishan has not played competitive cricket since November and enters this year’s IPL on the back of the off-field drama with the Indian team management and the BCCI that has resulted in the 25-year-old losing his central contract . Whether he can put all of that behind and start afresh in the IPL or not remains to be seen.

It’s not just Kishan who will be playing top-level cricket after months. Pandya, too, hasn’t played international cricket since suffering an ankle injury during the World Cup, and only recently returned to action in the DY Patil T20 Cup in Navi Mumbai. How he performs on his return for the Mumbai Indians is also something that will be keenly followed this season.

Player to watch out

Gerald Coetzee — The South African pacer was one of the top performers in the World Cup last year, collecting 20 wickets in ICC’s showpiece event less than a year after making his international debut. Whether Coetzee goes on to become a long-term pace prospect for MI and one of the league’s top stars down the road will somewhat depend on how he performs in his debut season this year.

Season prediction

After a couple of difficult seasons, including a bottom-of-the-table finish in 2022, MI had bounced back with a much better display last season — sneaking into the playoffs towards the end of the league stage and going as far as Qualifier 2 before being shown the door by then-defending champions Gujarat Titans.

With a new, and proven, leader at the helm along with a few smart purchases which highlight the franchise’s desire to build a team for the future while taking care of the present, there’s no reason to believe MI cannot challenge defending champions CSK, GT and the other heavyweights for the title this year.

Predicted playing XI

Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), N Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David, Piyush Chawla, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal, Gerald Coetzee

Squad:

Retained players: Hardik Pandya (c), Akash Madhwal, Arjun Tendulkar, Dewald Brevis, Ishan Kishan, Jason Behrendorff, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, N. Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Piyush Chawla, Rohit Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Shams Mulani, Surya Kumar Yadav, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod.

Purchased at IPL 2024 Auction: Gerald Coetzee (Rs 5 crore), Dilshan Madhushanka (Rs 4.6 crore), Shreyas Gopal (Rs 20 lakh), Nuwan Thushara (Rs 4.80 crore), Namandhir Singh (Rs 20 lakh), Anshul Kamboj (Rs 20 lakh), Mohammad Nabi (Rs 1.5 crore), Shivalik Sharma (Rs 20 lakh)