Many would suggest that the men in blue have the best team on paper, and they would be making a valid point.
Five-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) is the most successful team in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and they will be looking to add a sixth to their trophy cabinet in 2023. Many would suggest that the men in blue have the best team on paper, and they would be making a valid point. However, MI having a strong team has always been the case over the years, which is why they are so successful. Although the 2022 season was one to forget, MI have won the IPL more than anyone. Their most recent victory came in 2020 when they beat Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final by five wickets.
This season, the MI team boasts of superstars in almost every department. The men in blue made the second most expensive buy in IPL history at the mini auction in December last year when they paid a whopping 17.50 crore INR. They also roped in the likes of Jhye Richardson, Piyush Chawla, Duan Jansen, Shams Mulani, Nehal Vadhera, and Vishnu Vinod. Apart from these players, the franchise already had the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jofra Archer, Suryakumar Yadav and others. So, without any further ado, here are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the team ahead of the 2023 IPL season.
Mumbai Indians perhaps have the most destructive batting lineup on paper in this year’s IPL. Their team boasts of the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green and Tim David. They also have a blistering pace attack thanks to the duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer. These two aspects of the team can take apart any opposition and really make it easy for Rohit Sharma to earn his sixth IPL title and cement his place as the most successful IPL captain of all time.
One of the main weaknesses that MI have, is its lackluster spin bowling department. It was a problem they had last season and quite frankly, nothing has changed. Their best spinner on paper is the veteran Piyush Chawla who might have a lot of experience in his tank, but is well past his prime and can be easily taken to the cleaners in a format like T20.
Simply put, the biggest opportunity ahead of this season’s IPL for MI belongs to their big money buy Cameron Green. The Aussie was sold to the five-time champions for a whopping 17.50 crore INR and he has to live up to the price tag and prove his worth this very season. The pressure on him will be intense but that is just the nature of the game.
There will be opportunities for Ishan Kishan as well, who is one of India’s best and brightest prospects for a wicketkeeper-batter in the future. Pressure will also be there on Suryakumar Yadav who did not have the best time in the Border-Gavaskar trophy earlier this year, especially in the ODI format.
And of course, Archer and Bumrah will have the opportunity to nurture their partnership and become the deadliest pace bowling duo this season in the IPL. Knowing the cut-throat nature of the IPL and MI fans’ expectations, anything less would be considered not good enough.
The lack of spin bowling can really hurt MI when they travel to stadiums with a spinning track, for example, Chepauk. Piyush Chawla being their best hope in that department is quite underwhelming to be honest and the MI bowling apart can be absolutely taken apart if the surface is more conducive to spinners than pacers.
Another threat would the fitness concerns of Archer and Bumrah. Both bowlers might be the best in the world at what they do, but they have also had to deal with long stints on the sidelines. If either one of them picks up an injury during the course of the season, it will be a huge cause for concern in the MI camp.