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Mumbai Indians (MI) strongest possible playing11: The second phase of the IPL 2021 which consists of 31 remaining matches is scheduled to begin in the UAE. With the tournament being shifted to the UAE from India, the teams will appear with fresh faces and will hope to begin from scratch. Some new tactics will be adopted by the teams to turn the outcome in their favour in the remainder of the season.

As per the regulated schedule, the second leg will begin on 19th September as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will square off Mumbai Indians (MI) at Dubai International Stadium.

The defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) would be extremely happy to be in the UAE. The franchise won its fifth IPL title last year in the same venue and created several records. This time around also, Rohit Sharma and co. will hope to lift the title and make it three in a row, which is a possibility.

Mumbai Indians (MI) managed to win four matches in the first half of the IPL 2021. Most of the matches they played were in Chennai which is a tricky surface to be at. Despite having played most of their games there, MI won four games out of seven in the first half and are placed fourth in the points table.

The five times IPL winning franchise has already started their training with a limited number of available players. The domestic Indian cricketer and a few overseas players who are not involved in any national commitments have joined the franchise in the UAE, almost two weeks ago.

There are several positives for the men in blue and gold. None of their players has pulled back from the league which means that the team has a well set and already established core and the players are well aware of the environment inside the team.

Complete Mumbai Indians (MI) squad for the IPL 2021: Rohit Sharma, Trent Boult, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan,  Aditya Tare, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Quinton de Kock, Yudhvir Charak, Rahul Chahar, Mohsin Khan, Saurabh Tiwary, Adam Milne, Piyush Chawla, James Neeshan, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar.

Choosing a playing11 for Mumbai Indians (MI) will not be a tricky job as the franchise would love to go with their well-settled players who have featured consistently for the team. So, here is Mumbai Indians (MI) strongest possible Playing11 for the IPL 2021 phase 2.

Mumbai Indians (MI) strongest possible playing11 for the IPL 2021 phase 2:

Top Order:

Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav:

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper has a knack of backing his players regardless of their recent outings. So the playing11 becomes quite obvious. The top three for Mumbai Indians (MI) would be Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock as openers and Suryakumar Yadav as a number three batsman.

All the three aforementioned were successful in the previous outing in the UAE and amassed healthy runs of the team. The three looks in a good form lately. Rohit Sharma has been scoring runs against England in the Test series while Quinton de Kock had a few good knocks against Ireland. Suryakumar Yadav played sensational cricket in the recent India tour of Sri Lanka.

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Middle Order:

Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya.

A strong middle order is synonymous with Mumbai Indians and the franchise has maintained it all throughout these seasons. Having a capable and consistent backing of top order is really important to form a formidable outfit.

Over the years, Kieron Pollard and the brother duo of Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya have done the job for Mumbai Indians and the new addition Ishan Kishan has effectively helped the team to get a better balance. 

Although in the first half of IPL 2021, Hardik’s bat was quiet, the cricketer will be geared up to roar once again. His performance will be eyed by Indian selectors as well to check if the all-rounder is a good addition to India’s T20 World Cup squad or not.

Pollard has time and again showed why he still is one of the best T20I players. He has played so many valuable knocks for the MI franchise and his contributions to this team are unmatchable.

Bowling unit:

Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Adam Milne.

The decorated franchise is fond of going with three genuine pacers and one specialist spinner to complete the playing11. Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling has been top-notch in the past few seasons. The combination of Jasprit Bumrah with Trent Boult has worked for the team and has fetched many fruitful results.

The bowling combinations have several variations. Rohit Sharma loves to go with two genuine pacers and two spinners where there is a bit of slowness on the surface. Jayant Yadav or Piyush Chawla replaces Adam Milne when there is a need for an extra spinner. However, when the surface is aiding pacers, the combination turns to three pacers and one spinner.

The selection of Adam Milne is dependent on several factors and the franchise keeps him in rotation. Milne can be replaced by Nathan Coulter Nile or James Neesham when Rohit Sharma needs a daunting team that bats deep.

Overall to conclude this, the different combinations have worked for the team in the past. The right playing11 is picked after accessing the surface on that particular day. However, the core of the group remains intact no matter what.

Mumbai Indians (MI) strongest possible playing11:

Rohit Sharma ©, Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Adam Milne/James Neesham/Nathan Coulter Nile/Jayant Yadav/Piyush Chawla.

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