IPL 2020: Areas of improvement for all 8 franchises

The hype for Indian Premier League (IPL) has been growing with each passing day. Every small news regarding the IPL just builds up to that, and fans cannot wait any longer. It is appreciable on BCCI’s part that they have been able to finalise the tournament in the midst of a global pandemic. Millions of fans across the globe are eagerly looking forward to the IPL, after a long wait this year.

The IPL has been one of the most viewed cricket tournaments. It is a time when we see the entire cricket family hyped about cricket for the entire two months. From fantasy leagues, to virtual auctions, the hype is real.

The squads this year look evenly poised. With a few challenges here and there, we are looking forward to an extremely engaging tournament starting Saturday, September 19. This article aims to demonstrate the shortcomings of all 8 franchises.

1. Mumbai Indians:

Squad- Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Kieron Pollard, Anmolpreet Singh, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Coulter Nile, Quinton de Kock, Digvijay Deshmukh, Ishan Kishan, Dhawal Kulkarni, Chris Lynn, Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai, Saurabh Tiwary, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Anukul Roy.

Mumbai Indians lack experience in the spin attack. The spin attack consists of Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav and Anukul Roy. Krunal and Chahar are expected to start in the playing XI, and while both of them had a great season last year, none of them are wicket-takers. On the turning tracks of UAE, MI could have gone for a spinner that turns the ball, contrary to being “quick through the air”.  Yadav and Roy as the backup spinners do not exactly instil fear in the eyes of the opposition.

The pace attack, barring Jasprit Bumrah, isn’t very strong. They might miss the experience of Lasith Malinga, who has the experience of performing in crunch situations, and his replacement James Pattinson lacks experience in the format. Trent Boult played only 5 games last season, and Coulter-Nile hasn’t played a single game in the previous 2 seasons. Dhawal Kulkarni has picked up just 13 wickets in 24 games, at an economy rate of over 9, in the past 3 seasons.

Another thing that might play on their mind is their performance in the UAE in 2014, where they lost all 5 games. Captain Rohit also didn’t perform to the best of his abilities, scoring a paltry 84 runs from 5 innings. A slow start to the season might affect their morale as a team, and they would surely love to start afresh and wash out all the bad memories.