Nothing has been going right for the MI IPL 2023 since last year. After finishing in the tenth position in Indian Premier League 2022, Mumbai Indians were expected to make a stronger comeback with the return of Jofra Archer with Jasprit Bumrah. But as luck would play a part, we could not see the hottest fast bowling pair of Bumrah and Archer play together.
Jasprit Bumrah- key factor for MI:
Bumrah, who has been staying outside of Cricketing action for four months, has yet to recover from a back injury. Understanding the seriousness of the injury, he is expected to undergo surgery. It would keep him out of action for another 5-6 months. It is a big blow to the Mumbai Indians camp, who already have a depleted bowling line-up with the lack of Indian bowlers with good quality. Without Bumrah, Mumbai Indians hardly have any good Indian bowlers. The best they have is Piyush Chawla. But he is already in the stage of retirement. The team management has nothing but overseas bowlers to fall back upon.
Without Bumrah, it would be damn interesting to explore the best possible playing 11 that MI IPL 2023 can deploy. So, here, we explore the strongest and different playing 11 options that Mumbai Indians can explore for IPL 2023. Before that, look at the official squad and players list for Mumbai Indians for IPL 2023.
IPL 2023: Official Squad for Mumbai Indians:
- Batters: Dewald Brevis, Rohit Sharma & Suryakumar Yadav
- Wicket-keeper: Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs & Vishnu Vinod
- All-rounders: Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Cameron Green, Duan Jansen, Hrithik Shokeen, Jofra Archer, Nehal Wadhera, Shams Mulani, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma & Tim David
- Bowlers: Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Jasprit Bumrah, Jhye Richardson, Piyush Chawla, Raghav Goyal and Kumar Kartikeya
Total Players: 24
Best Playing 11 for Mumbai Indians:
Openers: Ishan Kishan & Rohit Sharma
This is one area which seems totally sorted for Mumbai Indians. The team have two strong options in the form of Captain Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan behind the stumps. Not only are they the best available options for MI, but they are also one of the best opening pairs for IPL 2023. With a slightly thin lower order, expectations would be high from them for IPL 2023.
Middle-order: Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav & Tilak Varma
The middle order is another where MI IPL 2023 scored big. Adding explosive Cameron Green to World number 1 T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav makes this Middle-order a treat. Moreover, MI have an anchor Tilak Varma sandwiched between these 2 aggressive cricketers and Tim David, who should play as the sixth.
More importantly, all the eyes would stick on Suryakumar, who has taken the T20 World Cup by storm in the last year. He is not only consistent, but he has also been positive in his approach. It would not be an understatement, but he has been the most talented T20I batter in the history of cricket. It would be exciting to see how he translates his performance to IPL.
Lower-order: Tim David & Arshad Khan
Coming to the lower order, Mumbai Indians lack a punch. Besides Cameron Green, the team needs a solid second all-rounder to fall back to. They have part-time options in the form of Tilak Varma and Tim David but still, need a quality second all-rounder. That’s when the likes of Jofra Archer, Arshad Khan, and Kumar Kartikeya will have to play a part.
Especially, Arshad Khan would have missed the first-choice playing 11. But with the loss of seamer Jasprit Bumrah, Arshad Khan is the best available seamer for them. Of course, MI will look for Bumrah’s replacement, but until then, Arshad is the best option available. Besides being a decent left-arm pacer, Arshad can strike big if needed.
Bowlers: Jofra Archer, Piyush Chawla, Kumar Kartikeya & Jason Behrendorff
With pitches favouring pace, Mumbai must play at least four fast bowlers. While Arshad Khan and Cameron Green are the pace-bowling all-rounders, Jofra Archer and Jason Behrendorff are the two leading pacers in the squad. Besides these two, MI must play the spin duo of Kumar Kartikeya and Piyush Chawla.
IPL 2023 Strongest Predicted Playing 11 for MI:
Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Arshad Khan, Jofra Archer, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla & Jason Behrendorff
Lastly:
MI IPL 2023 is not a weak team; they have previously proved it. We may expect this year, they are preparing for a brilliant comeback with lots of support and followers.
