MI Predicted XI vs RR, IPL 2022: 31-year-old India star set to return after injury lay-off; Mumbai Indians eye 1st win

Ahead of Match 9 of the IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium, we take a look at the probable playing XI for Mumbai Indians...

Eyeing first win of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season, five-time champions Mumbai Indians take on Rajasthan Royals at the DY Patil Stadium. Both teams have had contrasting outings in their opening games. While Rohit's men suffered a four-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals, the Royals produced a dominant show to crush Sunrisers Hyderabad by 61 runs. Ishan Kishan's unbeaten 81 was a bright spot for Mumbai, who seek firepower in the middle order. Ishan and skipper Rohit form a lethal opening pair but the absence of the Pandya brothers and Quinton de Kock is likely to affect the team's batting prowess.

MI Predicted XI vs RR, IPL 2022 (IPLt20.com)

IPL 2022 Live: MI vs RR Live Updates

But the franchise will breathe a huge sigh of relief ahead of the Royals test. Experienced middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav, who has joined the team after his recovery at the NCA, will likely bat at number three in a big boost to Mumbai's stability. Also, veteran all-rounder Kieron Pollard will be raring to go after a dingy show against Delhi Capitals. On the bowling front, Mumbai will rely heavily on Jasprit Bumrah, who was on the expensive side in the previous game. He finished with 0/43 in 3.2 overs while Basil Thampi and Murugan Ashwin returned with three and two wickets respectively.

Ahead of Match 9 of the IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium, we take a look at the probable playing XI for Mumbai Indians...

Rohit Sharma: He's got elegance written all over his stroke-play but the Mumbai Indians skipper has struggled with consistency lately. Rohit has scored the least amount of 50-plus scores (4) among openers since 2020. His average and strike rate are significantly high in India colours but the 34-year-old batter has been battling to get a steady run in the IPL. Also, Rohit is just 64 runs away from reaching 10,000 runs in T20s and becoming only the seventh batter to achieve the feat.

Ishan Kishan: His blistering show against Delhi Capitals proved why Mumbai splurged a hefty sum to buy him back. He's got a wide array of shots in his weaponry and the five-time champions will expect another good show from Ishan. Proving his worth, Ishan smashed 11 fours and two sixes in his 48-ball unbeaten 81.

Suryakumar Yadav: He was undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) after suffering a finger injury during the home series against West Indies, and his return will be a big boost to the batting unit. Surya is also in the Indian team's scheme of things for this year's T20 World Cup and MI's success in the ongoing IPL edition will depend a lot on the talented right-hander. He had scored 317 runs last season year including two fifties.

Tilak Verma: Mumbai have a string of rising talent in Tilak Varma, Tim David and South African 'Baby AB' Dewald Brevis, who was recently seen having a one-on-one batting session with legendary Sachin Tendulkar. But Tilak could be given another chance ahead of Brevis, who doesn't fit in the four-player foreign picks policy. Brevis could get a chance if Mumbai play Unadkat in place of Sams, who is a foreign pick.

Varma had scored 22 against Delhi to put up 34 with Ishan for the third wicket. Varma was bought by Mumbai Indians for ₹1.7 crore in the mega auctions.

Tim David: He was picked up for a staggering ₹8.25 crore in the February auction and Tim enters the tournament with the reputation of being a power-hitter. The first Singaporean to play in the lucrative T20 league in the country, David was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the last IPL edition. He was picked as a replacement player by the Bangalore outfit ahead of the second leg but played just one game.

Kieron Pollard: The West Indian is an integral part of the MI set-up and his experience of the format makes him an automatic pick in any T20 side. In 179 IPL games, Pollard has got over 3000 runs with 65 wickets as well. He managed to score just three against Delhi and the big-hitting all-rounder looks to rediscover his mojo.

Daniel Sams/Jaydev Unadkat: He had a dismal outing in the previous game as he conceded 57 runs in his four overs. Mumbai could alter the bowling attack by introducing Jaydev Unadkat or present Sams with another chance at a new venue. Having picked 85 wickets in 86 matches, Unadkat comes with rich experience in the tournament.

Murugan Ashwin: He made a brilliant debut in the last game and picked up two wickets with his wrist spin. He was the pick for captain Rohit Sharma as the bowler removed Tim Seifert for 21 and Mandeep Singh in his first over for Mumbai. Notably, he gave away just 14 in his four overs. He can affect breakthroughs and also put the brakes on the scoring rate.

Jasprit Bumrah: Mumbai looked ordinary in their pace attack with Bumrah returning wicketless. But the team, however, will rely heavily on the pacer, who had a lacklustre outing, leaking 43 runs from 3.2 overs. The Indian can return to form at any point in time, given the fact that he's got plenty of experience and skill-set under his belt. The man with an unorthodox yet effective action, Bumrah has picked up 130 wickets in 107 games for Mumbai so far.

Tymal Mills: The English debutant put up a brilliant show against Delhi and returned with figures of 3-0-26-1. Mills struck in his very first over for MI, removing Delhi captain Rishabh Pant. He will operate with Bumrah at the death. He has picked up 42 wickets in the last four overs of a T20 innings at an economy rate of 7.78

Basil Thampi: He rocked Delhi Capitals with his triple strikes (Prithvi Shaw, Rovman Powell and Shardul Thakur) to return with figures of 3/35 in his four. He would look for a few more wickets as Mumbai Indians look to put up a much-improved bowling show at the death.