The Mumbai Indians are the most successful team in the history of the IPL with 5 titles to their name. A team with such a mammoth achievement is supposedly not required to have any sorts of concerns in any department of their squad as it seems.
The team which won its first IPL title back in 2013 has arguably been the best in every aspect of the game since then as they went on to add another 4 trophies to their cabinet by the time we’ve reached IPL 2022. In spite of everything that they’ve conquered all this while in the tournament they can never take any season for granted, the reason being the huge competition that comes from the other sides in the league which keep pushing each other every now and then making it the toughest and most unpredictable T20 league on the planet.
Mumbai Indians who had a firm grip on the IPL every season until 2020 had their fine run cut short in 2021 when they couldn’t even qualify for the playoffs. A major reason for their downfall was the sudden failure of the majority of their star batsmen during a large phase of the tournament. A team that didn’t have to even care about its batting order in the earlier seasons seemed fragile in front of average sides in the league last season.
The mega auction prior to this season’s IPL made things only worse for the Indians as they had to let go of several important players from their squad who had played a major role in the team’s success in the past. Now all the 5-time champions can do to turn things around is look forward to the upcoming days and rebuild the squad with a similar spirit that they had back in their successful seasons.
One of the major parts of building a strong lineup is to set up a solid opening pair which shall provide the side with blistering starts in each game thereby giving the lower order batsmen a chance to capitalise on the opportunity in the middle and slog overs. Given below are three of the most possible batting pairs that Mumbai could use as their openers for the IPL 2022:-
1. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan
The first of the three opening options which Mumbai Indians may possibly be going with this season is the one of Captain Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. Mumbai Indians shocked IPL fans with a 15.25 crore bid for the 25-year-old batsman, Ishan Kishan thereby making him the highest-paid player in this mega auction of IPL 2022.
The Indians shall definitely be looking to provide their star batsman with the most opportunity to showcase his brilliance by sending him up the order to open the batting for the side. Ishan who has opened the batting for the same franchise on multiple occasions has a fair amount of experience in executing his job. He has provided some fine performances in the position and shall once again be eager to repeat the same services for his franchise.
Rohit Sharma on the other hand who has been a part of the side since 2012 has been Mumbai’s regular opener for several past few seasons making him an automatic choice to open the batting. Thus the Rohit-Kishan duo seems highly likely to open the innings together for Mumbai in this IPL season.
Rohit Sharma (IPL Stats):-
Matches – 213, Runs – 5611, Average – 31.2, Strike Rate – 130.4
Ishan Kishan (IPL Stats):-
Matches – 61, Runs – 1452, Average – 28.5, Strike Rate – 136.3
2. Ishan Kishan and Dewald Brevis
Another possible Opening pair that Mumbai Indians could adhere to is the one pass Ishan Kishan and Dewald Brevis. Dewald Brevis who drew everyone’s attention with his blistering batting in the Under 19 world cup was included by the Mumbai Indians in their squad in the auction ahead of IPL 2022.
The 19-year-old hard-hitting batsman was so much skilled in his power-hitting abilities that he has adorned the name of “Baby De Villiers”, considering the fact that he considers South African legendary batsman Ab De Villiers his idol.
The explosive duo of Brevis and Ishan batting up the order for the Indians shall definitely be a big threat to the opposition bowlers since both the players can run riot and hit sixes at will in the early powerplay overs of the innings.
The two also provide the team with a left-right opening combination which seems pretty suitable for the side. Thus the above-mentioned batting duo shall surely be a hot favourite to open the batting for Mumbai in IPL this season.
Dewald Brevis (T20 Stats):-
Matches – 9, Runs – 207, Average – 25.9, Strike Rate – 125.5
3. Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan
A third possible opening combination for the Mumbai Indians is that of Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan. Both the batsmen who set the stage on fire in the IPL 2020 were key to winning their side the 5th IPL title that season.
Both have had several experiences of batting together for the Indians on several occasions in the past. Their similar ability to steer the innings under pressure and to go for rampant big hits as per the situation makes them indispensable for the side.
Their consistent performance over the last few seasons batting together is another major reason why the team management could invest in these two players even more for the upcoming season. Thus the above-mentioned duo of Suryakumar and Kishan could also be one of the best options to open the batting for the Indians this season.
Suryakumar Yadav (IPL Stats):-
Matches – 115, Runs – 2341, Average – 28.9, Strike Rate – 135.7
Our Prediction: Although most of the above disgust pairs are equally available to the Mumbai Indians to open the batting in this IPL season, The most suitable opening pair out of these in our opinion is the one including Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan.
Ishan Kishan who was included for a whopping 15.25 crores in the mega auction is surely going to be a key batsman that the team would be looking forward to ahead of the IPL season. All the money invested in him proves the fact that the team is going to provide him with the biggest of opportunities and responsibilities in the form of opening the innings for Mumbai this season.
Whereas captain Rohit Sharma who has been a true leader of the side for several previous seasons now has been in his best possible rhythm while opening the batting and has got his team out of a whole on several occasions. This going with the opening combination of these two batsmen shall be possibly one of the most appropriate decisions made by the Mumbai Indians management, as per our expectations.
Also Read:- IPL 2022: Top 3 Possible Opening Partnerships for Delhi Capitals