What does an ideal playing XI for Mumbai will look like in Indian T20 League 2022

Last weekend saw a total of 600 players go under the hammer during the Indian T20 League mega auction. Out of those, 237 players were bought by 10 teams. Teams such as Mumbai, Chennai, Punjab, and Kolkata managed to complete the maximum quota of 25 players in their squads. Mumbai had retained the likes of Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Suryakumar Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the auction.

They have managed to buy back players such as Ishan Kishan, Anmolpreet Singh, and Arjun Tendulkar. Apart from these seven familiar names, they have players such as Dewald Brevis, Basil Thampi, Murugan Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Tymal Mills, Tim David etc. In this listicle, we will see how the strongest playing XI of Mumbai will look like.

Playing XI of Mumbai

Rohit Sharma (captain) 

The five-time ITL winning captain has preferred opening the innings in the last two seasons. Earlier, he used to bat in the middle-order and occasionally opened the batting. Sharma is the third-highest run-getter of all time with 5611 runs, averaging 31.17 with one hundred and 4 fifties. He is currently one of the best openers in world cricket and gives Mumbai a solid option at the top.

2. Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper)

Kishan can open the batting and bat in the middle-order as well. However, in the last two seasons, it has been observed that he can produce best results while opening the batting as he can clear the 30-yard circle with ease. The most expensive player this year also opened the batting for the Indian team in the shortest format recently. Although, he is struggling against the West Indies, he is still impactful at the opening slot.

3. Suryakumar Yadav  

The right-hander has been batting at number three since the 2018 season. He produced more than 400 runs for three consecutive seasons since then. Last year, he had a difficult time with the bat but has shown his form in the recently played ODIs and T20Is. His ability to attack spinners with his wide array of strokes makes him a perfect candidate for number three.

4. Tilak Varma 

The former India U19 player can be very effective at the number four slot. His strike-rate of 143.8 in 15 games can be helpful for a team who believes in putting pressure on the opposition bowling attacks. Like Kishan, he is also a left-hander, which makes it difficult for the fielding captains.

5. Kieron Pollard 

Mumbai playing XI is incomplete without the Trinidadian. He has been part of the team since 2010. He has a career strike-rate of 149.77 and has the ability to clear any boundary in the world.

6. Tim David 

The Singapore-born will surely feature in the playing XI given the kind of bidding he attracted from various teams. Also, his strike-rate of more than 200 in the ongoing PSL makes him a certainty in the playing XI at the number six position, left vacant after the departure of Pandya brothers.

7. Fabian Allen 

The Jamaican-born has been a three-dimensional player in the shortest format. He is an explosive batter, left-arm slow bowler, and a gun fielder in the outfield.

8. Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah is the spearhead of the bowling attack which makes him an obvious choice in the XI. He will bowl two overs in the powerplay and two in the death overs as usual. The right-arm pacer has picked 130 wickets for the team in 106 games since making his debut in 2013.

9. Tymal Mills

The left-arm pacer is making his comeback after five years. Last year, he was effective in the death over for England in the 20-20 World Cup.

10. Mayank Markande

A leg-spinner is must in a T20 playing XI these days. Till last year, Rahul Chahar was the leg-spinner for the team. Chahar has been bought by Punjab. Notably, Markande has played for the team since 2018.

11. Jaydev Unadkat

The Saurashtra-born medium pacer hasn’t been effective with the ball after a dream season in 2017. However, the team has shown faith in him and might feature in the playing XI.