5 players Mumbai Indians should pick in IPL 2019

Mumbai Indians (MI) began their season as the defending champions having won the title last year. But their campaign ended prematurely as they failed to qualify for the playoffs. The team didn’t look at their best this time around and were too much dependent on the individuals to take them home every time. Moreover, the captain Rohit Sharma was out of form which added to their woes. However, they didn’t give up until the end and went down fighting in their last league match against the Delhi Daredevils (DD). The franchise lacked the firepower in the middle and lower-middle order this year as they never got the much-needed finishing kick in the death overs. The likes of Kieron Pollard and Ben Cutting were below par and apart from an occasional brilliance, they failed to set the stage on fire. Rohit Sharma and Co. would be eager to address the issues and come back stronger in the next season. Here we look at the players who MI would want to pick in IPL 2019: 1. Travis Head Travis Head. (Photo Source: Twitter) Travis Head is one of the most exciting cricketers going around in T20 cricket. He bats at number 3 or 4 in the Big Bash League (BBL) and has an ability to tonk the ball. He can also manoeuvre the ball if the team is in tatters at any stage of the innings. Mumbai lacked such a versatile player in the line-up this year and the middle-order always looked brittle with Rohit misfiring consistently. They wasted the strong starts so often and ended up being few runs short while batting first. Head led the Adelaide Strikers to their maiden title in the BBL this year and brings a sense of calmness in the batting line-up. He has scored 1516 runs in 59 matches at an amazing strike-rate of 136.94 managing to hit 8 half-centuries and a solitary century. He is a decent bet with the ball as well and can round his arm for his captain to fill in a few tight overs in case the regular bowlers aren’t doing well. Head would be an ideal addition to the talented squad of Mumbai Indians and it will be interesting to see if they go for him in the auction next year. 2. Kusal Perera Kusal Perera (Photo Source: Getty Images) The Men in Blue had no option but to continue with Evin Lewis despite him being inconsistent. They didn’t have enough options up their sleeves at the top of the order and thankfully the plot to send Suryakumar Yadav proved to be a masterstroke for them. Kusal Perera seems to be a good option for them who rejected the offer of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) this year to ply his trade in the domestic cricket in order to get himself back in the Test side. But if all goes well he won’t deny another opportunity next year and would look to make the most of it. Kusal has had his share of injuries of late and made a comeback late last year in the Sri Lankan team only to bolster them at the top. The swashbuckling left-hander boasts a strike-rate of 131.58 in 86 T20 matches and has scored 1883 runs with 16 half-centuries to his name. If his national record is taken into consideration, the strike-rate goes up close to 138 which proves he has given solid starts to Sri Lanka more often than not. Perera’s inclusion will surely work wonders for Mumbai provided he opts to play in the league next year. 3. Jagadeesha Suchith Jagadeesha Suchith. (Photo by Nitin Lawate/IANS) Jagadeesha Suchith has played before for Mumbai Indians in 2015 and 2016. He is a decent all-rounder and the left-arm spinner is what the team needs right now. They only had Mayank Markande, Rahul Chahar and Akila Dananjaya in their squad and lacked variations in the spin department. Krunal Pandya was the only left-arm spinner but he couldn’t bowl to his potential this year and needed a replacement for him at some stage during the course of the tournament. Suchith has played 31 T20s and has scalped 27 wickets conceding the runs at an economy of 7.54. His strike-rate of 20.8 is good enough for the bowler who bats well also. If Mumbai manages to bag his services next year, at least they will have an option and can pick both Krunal and Suchith in the side while facing the team with most right-handers. 4. David Wiese David Wiese (Photo credit should read MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images) David Wiese, the South African all-rounder, might be the perfect replacement for Kieron Pollard who failed to make any impact despite the fact that the franchise had used a Right to Match card for him. Wiese will give them the bowling option as well where they fell short this year and only had Ben Cutting. It will be a refreshing change for the team who have been depending on the Caribbean player all these years to put them out of the hole. Clearly, he looked far from his best in this season and didn’t even bowl as well. Wiese has an experience of playing a whopping 159 matches in the shortest format of the game and has scored 1277 with a brilliant strike-rate of 147.80. His contribution with the ball is also immense as he has picked 130 wickets with 3 four-wicket hauls and a same number of five-fers to his name. He has played for RCB before and has lived up to his reputation of being an all-rounder. It was baffling to see him go unsold in the auction and Mumbai will be looking to make amends next year. 5. Andile Phehlukwayo Andile Phehlukwayo during the South African national cricket team training session. (Photo by Shaun Roy/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Andile Phehlukwayo is an option for Mumbai in the all-rounder department which will lend some variety for them while picking their playing XI. The 22-year-old showed his hitting prowess during the series against India earlier this year. He is yet to prove himself completely with the bat in the shortest format of the game but has done well in ODIs whenever he has got an opportunity. As far as his bowling is considered, Phehlukwayo has scalped 35 wickets in 49 matches and has conceded runs at an economy of 8.25 which should be acceptable in T20s. The most important aspect of picking him would be the power hitting which he can offer lower down the order. Mumbai lacked it this year with their gun players failing and didn’t have a strong enough replacement. The youngster must be given a chance to showcase his skills and if all goes well, he could prove to be a game-changer for them. Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates

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5 players Mumbai Indians should pick in IPL 2019

Here are the players Mumbai might target next year in the auction.

3. Jagadeesha Suchith

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