IPL 7: Can Mumbai Indians defend their title?

New Delhi: The present title holders of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Mumbai Indians, will start their campaign with an aim to retain the title . But there will be a stark difference in the team from the previous six sessions and that would be the absence of the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar who has retired from all formats of the game after winning the IPL trophy last season. The responsibility of keeping the IPL trophy in Mumbai will rest on the shoulders of the following players. Kieron Pollard: The West Indian hard hitter was brought by the Mumbai franchise in the third edition of the tournament and has been retained since then. Pollard's ability of hitting the ball high out of the ground makes him one of the most destructive batsmen in the shortest format of the game. He has played a total of 62 matches till date and has scored 1059 runs. Pollard has a strike rate of 25.82. It is on the lower side because Pollard generally comes to strike with only few deliveries left in which he had to score runs freely. It is evident from the fact that he has a strike rate of 147.08 which goes on to prove the power of his hitting. He is also very effective with his medium pace and is a very effective.Rohit Sharma: Rohit tends to reserve his best for the IPL, though he has also turned his international career around with some consistent performances, especially in limited-overs cricket. The Mumbaikar's performance at the recently concluded World T20, where he amassed 200 runs in six matches at an average of 40, will surely boost MI's chances in the IPL. Lasith Malinga: There's little left to be told about Malinga's exploits with the ball and ability to delivery yorkers at will. One of the most feared fast bowlers in modern-day cricket and IPL's leading wicket-taker with 103 wickets, the 'Slinga Malinga' was one of the five players retained by MI ahead of the auction. In the absence of Johnson, who was instrumental to Mumbai's success last year, Malinga's role as the fast-bowling spearhead becomes even more important. Harbhajan Singh: One of the greatest off spinner that India has ever produced. Harbhajan Siingh will look to prove a point or two and will be trying hard to make IPL 7 the launch pad of making a comeback in Team India. He has been associated with Mumbai team from the first edition of IPL. Harbhajan has even led Mumbai Indians to victory in Champions League. He has played 82 matches in which he had taken a total of 78 wickets at an economy of 6.76. His best bowling figures is taking five wickets by giving away only 18 runs. Harbhajan has been pretty effective lower down the order as he can heave around the bat and has the ability to hit the cricket ball at long distance.Michael Hussey: Mr. Cricket may have retired but playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) last year he showed that he is far from over. Hussey will be one of the most experienced players in the Mumbai dugout this year with no Tendulkar or Ricky Ponting there. He will surely be opening the batting for the defendig champions this season and the team management will be hoping that the Aussie brings his success with CSK to Mumbai. Corey Anderson: The swashbuckling Kiwi batsman grabbed eyeballs after breaking the world record for the fastest ODI century soon after bursting onto the international scene last year, which made him one of the most sought after players at this year's players' auction. However, speculations surround his IPL debut as he left World T20 midway injuring his right little finger.