IPL 2020: Sunil Gavaskar picks his Mumbai Indians Playing XI

With the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League just a few days away, the former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar opined on the strengths, weaknesses, and potential threats for the defending champions Mumbai Indians, who will be starting their IPL campaign with a fixture against runners-up Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on September 19 in Abu Dhabi. The veteran cricketer also picked the playing XI for the Mumbai-based franchise.

Gavaskar believes that it wouldn’t be hard for MI to claim its 5th T20 title as the team is equipped with the experience of playing in the finals and has also covered all the facets of the game by making smart choices in the 2020 auctions in the form of Chris Lynn and Nathan Coulter-Nile.

In an interaction with Vikrant Gupta for Sports Tak, the former opening batsman also listed the weaknesses of the MI squad. Gavaskar feels that the team doesn’t have an experienced spin attack, which can pose a threat on the pitches of UAE. Their spin bowling options include Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav and Anukul Roy. Also, though Mumbai has an abundance of talent, it will be difficult for them to pick the players who can bat in the middle-order.

Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav to open the innings for Mumbai Indians

Revealing his potential playing XI for Paltan, the 71-year-old named Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav as the opening pair. In the 2019 edition, Yadav had amassed 424 runs to be MI’s second-highest run-getter while Rohit is hailed as the one of the most expensive openers of domestic and international circuit.

For the crucial position of Number 3, Gavaskar went with the South African captain Quinton de Kock while he picked the 22-year-old Ishan Kishan for batting at Number 4. Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya came next in the XI by the Mumbai Stalwart followed by West Indies great Kieron Pollard.

The former cricketer picked the duo Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar as the spinners of the squad while he went with Jasprit Bumrah, Nathan Coulter-Nile and one between Trent Boult and Mitchell McClenaghan for the seam attack.

Sunil Gavaskar’s MI Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult/Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah.