The 14th iteration of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will officially start on April 9, with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore for the opening game of the tournament.
Ahead of the tournament, the home team has landed in Chennai to start their prep for the upcoming tournament. The first set of matches of IPL 2021 will be played in Chennai.
Touchdown, Chennai! 🛬💙#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 @hardikpandya7 @Jaspritbumrah93 @ishankishan51 pic.twitter.com/tZOs2IfBjT
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 31, 2021
Chenn-hi 👋#OneFamily has arrived 💙#MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/6Yu0EvXP2k
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 31, 2021
Mumbai Indians is in good form and will be looking at creating history by winning the cup for the third consecutive time.
Recently Sunil Gavaskar in a media statement said, "Mumbai Indians will be hard to beat. We have just seen their players coming to form. Ishan Kishan, Suryakunar Yadav – the way they have batted. Hardik Pandya – the way he has come today". This statement was made after India managed to clinch the 50-over series against England by 2-1.
During these matches, Mumbai Indians players Surya Kumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Ishan Kishan’s impactful contributions had made all lookup and notice.
Moreover, talking about Hardik Pandya’s fitness, Gavaskar said that the way he has made a comeback is very good not just for Mumbai Indians, but also Indian Cricket. It was important for Indian cricket to see him bowl 9 overs. It means he is ready to play.
Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan smashed 60 runs in the two matches that he played. He had to miss the last two games due to a groin injury. Suryakumar Yadav, on the other hand, scored 89 runs in the three games he played.
The only big turn off for Mumbai Indians could be that South African wicketkeeper-batsman, and former captain, Quinton de Kock (QDK) may not be able to join the team for their big match against RCB on April 9.
De Kock is currently with the South Africa squad for a limited-overs series at home against Pakistan. The series will consist of three ODIs starting April 2, while the tour officially comes to a close after the fourth T20I between the two teams on April 16.
Read - Here Are Some New Rules Announced For IPL 2021
However, QDK is likely to miss only the first couple of matches for Mumbai Indians, as Cricket South Africa, the governing body for cricket in the region, has allowed its players to leave for the IPL after the conclusion of the 2nd ODI on April 4 in Johannesburg.
Depending on the quarantine requirements for international players which is currently 7 days, de Kock is likely to miss only the first game. Mumbai Indians will play its second game on the 13th of April against Kolkata Knight Riders. So it is hard to say at the point whether he will be miss this match as well.
The good thing for the team is that it is has a good mix of Indian and foreign players and it has never been too dependent on the overseas players. Furthermore, there will be plenty of new people to watch out for in the coming matches.
Mumbai Indians squad: Rohit Sharma, Aditya Tare, Anukul Roy, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Mohsin Khan, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Tiwary, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Jimmy Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar.
Share
Tweet
