IPL 2021: I think Mumbai Indians will be hard to beat reckons Sunil Gavaskar

Starting their campaign with a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on April 9, defending champions Mumbai Indians will be looking forward to scripting history in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) by becoming the first team to win the title for three consecutive years. MI had presented a stellar show in the United Arab Emirates last year and the five-time champion is expected to do something similar this year too.

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar backed Mumbai to win the title this year and reckoned that they will be hard to beat for any of the seven other franchises. Gavaskar believes that the fine form of Mumbai players in the just-concluded England tour or India is one of the biggest positives for the squad.

The white-ball leg between India and England comprising five T20 Internationals followed by three One Day Internationals saw players like Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Krunal Pandya making their debut and impressing the cricket fraternity. In addition, MI skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya were also at their fluent best in the international circuit.

“I think Mumbai Indians will be hard to beat. We have seen their players coming to form. Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, the way they batted. Mumbai Indian players who took part in this T20I series and ODI series have shown they are in good form,” Gavaskar told Star Sports

Sunil Gavaskar opens up on Hardik Pandya 

Hardik Pandya had refrained from bowling after his back injury but the T20I series saw the comeback of the all-rounder as a competent bowler. The 27-year-old delivered a scintillating performance with the ball in the T20I series as he bowled 17 overs while picking 3 wickets and gave runs at an economy of around 6.

Also, Pandya had bowled 9 overs in the final ODI to help India defend the total and win the game. Speaking about the Baroda-born, Sunil Gavaskar reckoned that Hardik’s brilliant performance with the ball is very good news for his IPL franchise.

“The way Hardik Pandya has come to the party not just for Mumbai Indians, it was important for Indian cricket to see him bowl 9 overs. It means he is ready to play 9 overs. It (the World Test Championship final) is going to be in June, there is still time for that but the way he has come back is very good for Mumbai and Indian cricket,” Gavaskar added.