With Rohit Sharma taking up a new role and Hardik Pandya returning as captain, five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will enter a new era in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Even though Mumbai Indians have assembled a star-studded squad for IPL 2024, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar feels there is a chink in the armour of the five-time winners. Former champions Mumbai Indians will meet Gujarat Titans (GT) in their campaign opener of this season's IPL on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians acquired the services of all-rounder Hardik in the lead-up to the IPL 2024 auction. Signing Pandya from Gujarat Titans (GT) in an all-cash deal, MI appointed the all-rounder as Rohit's successor. The white-ball specialist guided Gujarat Titans to back-to-back finals in the cash-rich league. Under his leadership, GT were crowned champions in the 2022 edition of the world's richest T20 tournament. Pandya was also Rohit’s deputy at the 2023 edition of the ICC World Cup.
Gavaskar identifies Mumbai Indians' weakness
Recovering from an ankle injury, Pandya recently declared himself fit to bowl in the IPL 2024. The newly-appointed leader of the Mumbai Indians franchise is expected to complement pace ace Jasprit Bumrah, who will also make his return to IPL this season. The premier fast bowler missed the entire season of the IPL due to a back injury last year. Speaking to Star Sports in the build-up to the new season, batting legend Gavaskar identified death-bowling as Mumbai's weakness.
‘Bumrah is there but…’
"Death over bowling. Bumrah is there but maybe from the other side runs will be leaked. So this I think is a weakness in the Mumbai Indians side," Gavaskar said. Spearheaded by Bumrah and Hardik, Mumbai's bowling attack also features the likes of Jason Behrendorff, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla and Dilshan Madushanka. Pacer Bumrah was rested by India in the 4th Test of the five-match series against England. Keeping Bumrah's workload in mind, MI can also give starts to Akash Madhwal, who bagged a record-breaking five-wicket haul against Lucknow Super Giants last season.
{{/usCountry}}"Death over bowling. Bumrah is there but maybe from the other side runs will be leaked. So this I think is a weakness in the Mumbai Indians side," Gavaskar said. Spearheaded by Bumrah and Hardik, Mumbai's bowling attack also features the likes of Jason Behrendorff, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla and Dilshan Madushanka. Pacer Bumrah was rested by India in the 4th Test of the five-match series against England. Keeping Bumrah's workload in mind, MI can also give starts to Akash Madhwal, who bagged a record-breaking five-wicket haul against Lucknow Super Giants last season.
{{/usCountry}}