IPL 2022: Mumbai Indians Probable Playing XI, Strengths & Weakness

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off in just one week. The addition of two new teams in the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League will make the lucrative league even more intriguing.

The five-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) had a very interesting time in the mega auction for IPL 2022. After retaining their four-star players – Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and allrounder Kieron Pollard – Mumbai Indians focused on young guns and some prominent names from the world cricket.

The men in blue missed the playoffs last season, and this time, the most successful franchise of IPL 2022 must be looking to bounce back and add another trophy to their cabinet.

As IPL-15 approaches, let’s take a look at Mumbai Indians’ squad, their strength and weakness along with the probable playing XI for IPL 2022.  

Potential Playing XI For Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2022

Openers

Rohit Sharma & Ishan Kishan (WK)

The most expensive player of IPL 2022, Ishan Kishan and the most successful captain of IPL history, Rohit Sharma will continue to open the innings for Mumbai Indians. While Sharma can hold one end, Kishan can fire from the other end with the word go. Ishan Kishan is also the first-choice wicketkeeper for the Mumbai Indians. Having said that, Mumbai Indians will rely on this dashing duo for a good start.

Rohit Sharma Records as Opener in IPL

Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	50s	Best
59	1713	32.05	129.27	12	98*

Ishan Kishan Records as Opener in IPL

Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	50s	Best
13	555	55.50	155.89	5	84

Middle Order

Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav & Kieron Pollard

The five-time champions grabbed the services of 19-year old Tilak Varma for INR 1.7 Crore. Varma, who plays for Hyderabad, is a hard-hitting batter, who can score quick runs in death overs.

In last season’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the left-handed batter accumulated 215 runs from his seven games at a stunning strike rate of 147. Along with his power-hitting ability, Varma can also offer some overs with the ball. The Hyderabad batter can bat at number 3 for men in blue, pushing SuryaKumar Yadav to number 4 while Kieron Pollard will continue batting at number 5.

Suryakumar Yadav Records at Number Four Batting Position in IPL

Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	50s	Best
15	320	22.85	123.55	0	46*

Kieron Pollard Records at Number Five Batting Position in IPL

Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	50s	Best
65	1165	25.88	139.18	4	87*

Finishers

Tim David, Sanjay Yadav

Coming to finishers, Mumbai Indians will heavily rely on newbies. Tim David is one of the most exciting names in T20 tournaments all around the world. He is coming off an excellent PSL season and must be looking to continue his power-hitting in the Indian Premier League 2022. The explosive batter is known for his destructive batting skills in death overs, making him one of the top contenders for a finishing role. Talking about numbers, the right-hander has played 89 T20s so far, where he aggregated 1965 runs at a strike rate of 159.36.

Sanjay Yadav, who is another newcomer in Mumbai Indians’ camp is likely to find a place in the playing XI for his all-round skills. The Tamil Nadu lad boasts a strike rate of 124 in the T20s while his economy rate of 6.65 with the ball makes him a decent asset for the team.

Bowlers

Daniel Sams, Tymal Mills, Murugan Ashwin & Jasprit Bumrah

Daniel Sams is a good replacement for Trent Boult as he is an excellent power play bowler and can manage death overs too. His batting strike rate of above 150 in T20s makes him a decent batter too. He provides extra depth to Mumbai Indians’ batting line-up. He will manage the pace attack along with Jasprit Bumrah.

Mills, who can consistently clock over 145 kmph, will be another experienced T20 pacer alongside Jasprit Bumrah. The 29-year-old has played 156 T20s so far, where he grabbed 176 wickets at an economy of 7.82.

Murugan Ashwin, the replacement for Rahul Chahar, will handle the spin attack. Mayank Markande is another brilliant option available, however, considering the experience, the men in blue will go with Ashwin.

Mumbai Indians Strength:

With more than 4 newcomers in the team, Mumbai Indians will heavily rely on their core players – captain Rohit Sharma, middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav, all-rounder Kieron Pollard and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. They have proved themselves on many occasions, winning matches for their sides from time to time under pressure.

Mumbai Indians Weakness:

The middle-order of Mumbai Indians is relatively weaker than what few other IPL franchises boast of. Mumbai Indians released their experienced and trusted finisher Hardik Pandya ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. As a replacement, they signed Singapore-born middle-order batter Tim David, who is yet to prove his mettle in the Indian Premier League. He is most likely to fill the shoes of Hardik Pandya. Tilak Varma and Sanjay Yadav are other newcomers in the team.

The spin department of Mumbai Indians is also weaker than other IPL franchises. Murugan Ashwin is expected to lead the spin attack with Mayank Markande and Fabian Allen being his backup.

Mumbai Indians Squad For IPL 2022

Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Jaydev Unadkat, Tim David, Sanjay Yadav, Fabian Allen, Hrithik Shokeen, Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Ramandeep Singh, Tymal Mills, Mayank Markande, Arshad Khan, Aryan Juyal, Murugan Ashwin, N Tilak Varma, Daniel Sams, Riley Meredith, Basil Thampi, Dewald Brevis, Arjun Tendulkar, Jofra Archer