A line-up containing the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Tim David, Tilak Varma and Jasprit Bumrah among others finishing last in a 10-team tournament can't happen every time. It was a shock, more of an abomination for reasons other than cricketing one and Hardik Pandya, especially will be glad that it's done for and over with and that the five-time champions will be back doing what they do, make teams quiver.
The winds of change after the 2024 debacle began with Mahela Jayawardene, the long-serving head coach of the Mumbai Indians was back in the hot seat as he, being the global head of operations at the franchise, knew that the Men in Blue needed to sort the mess out first out of the field. The change was visible in MI's retention with the franchise being put ahead of anything and everything and it seems like all's good in the hood as far as the off-field issues are concerned and it's now game-time for the most successful team in the competition against their familiar foes, the Chennai Super Kings.
It is a rivalry etched in history, consistent and sheer star power and quality. The two joint-highest winners will lock horns for a record 38th time in the IPL but the Mumbai Indians are already hamstrung before the start of the season. Captain Hardik will miss the season opener serving the last ban for over-rate for any captain in the IPL, carry-forwarding from last year since the match suspensions are off the table for now.
Jasprit Bumrah will miss the first few games and this is where the Men in Blue really need to mine their bowling stocks since one of the best cricketers in the world leaves a definite hole in any team he is not part of. So, what should Mumbai do? Apart from Deepak Chahar, the only other Indian pacer with the most experience in the IPL has played five matches, Arjun Tendulkar. Hence, for the tournament opener especially, the Mumbai Indians might have to shore up their bowling with a couple of overseas options, hence the likes of Corbin Bosch, Mitchell Santner and Trent Boult all of them might play.
That leaves only one overseas slot and with MI going after Will Jacks at the auction, even thanking RCB management for not using RTM for him, the English all-rounder is most likely to pip Ryan Rickelton for a spot of Rohit Sharma's opening partner. The rest of the line-up picks itself with KL Shrijith or Robin Minz being the wicketkeeping option before Hardik Pandya returns to the line-up in the next game.
Against them are the Super Kings, in their own den, packed with spinners and full of backups. Apart from the infamous 10 fingers shown by coach Stephen Fleming at the auction to acquire Noor Ahmad, the Super Kings were metronomic in their spending and were able to construct a well-rounded squad, getting key players for not much and now have a challenge to build their side around MS Dhoni and the other retentions.
With Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra both fit and available, CSK have a selection headache having the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar and Deepak Hooda in the middle-order. Sam Curran and R Ashwin returned to the fold for the Men in Yellow and on slow and low turning tracks, facing Super Kings will be a challenge for any opponent and Mumbai Indians have their task cut out.
The horrors of 2024 are over and Mumbai Indians, who haven't won their opening game of the tournament since 2012, will be keen to get underway on a positive note but it will not be easy because there are a few wounded lions in the CSK camp, hurting from the previous season and a few from not getting enough recognition at the highest level. Should be a cracker!