Mumbai Indians will be vying for a record extending fifth IPL title as they compete against 7 franchises in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League which is being staged in the United Arab Emirates for the second time since 2014.

Mumbai Indians have cemented their place at the top of the 8-team IPL fold as the most successful franchise in the leagues history courtesy their four titles. While they first won their maiden title back in 2013 defeating Chennai Super Kings, they went onto add three more titles by winning the league in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Mumbai Indian had beaten arch rivals Chennai Super Kings in a pulsating grand finale of the last edition of the IPL by a solitary run at Hyderabad.

The 4-time IPL champions once again look promising to go the distance and stake a claim at the title as they have a good blend of Indian and overseas players in both their batting and bowling armoury.

While the defending champs retained their core group of players like Rohit Sharma, Keiron Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, they acquired the services of overseas stalwarts in Trent Boult, Chris Lynn and Nathan Coulter Nile in the 2020 IPL Auctions to further bolster their already strong squad.

Here is a look at the entire squad of Mumbai Indians in depth for the thirteenth edition of the IPL

Batting

Top Order

Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock will provide the opening salvo, Chris Lynn is a backup option

Mumbai Indians will persist with their tried and tested opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock in the 13th season of the tournament. The pair has got the champions off to fliers and consistent starts while opening the innings for them in the last season.

While skipper Rohit Sharma has established himself as one of the most prolific run scorers in the IPL history, Proteas dashing opener Quinton De Kock made an impactful debut season for Mumbai Indians after being snapped up by the 4-time champs from RCB last season. Mumbai signed in Australia's dashing opener Chris Lynn from Kolkata Knight Riders

Middle Order

Suryakumar Yadav: Suryakumar Yadav has been a good power hitter at number 3 for Mumbai Indians and has produced many a cameos for the defending champions over the years in their successful title runs. Kumar comes into the IPL on the back of a prolific run scoring season in domestic cricket and India A in New Zealand earlier this year.

Ishan Kishan: Ishan Kishan has built a reputation of sorts of being one of India's most promising wicket keeper batsman and is touted as one of the heir apparent along with Rishabh Pant to the legendary MS Dhoni.

ALL ROUNDERS

Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard Would Be The Clinical Finishers At The Death And Will Provide Depth To The Seam Bowling

Kieron Pollard: The big and burly Windies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has been an absolute match winner for Mumbai Indians with his brutal power hitting and the depth to the bowling he adds with his medium pace. The veteran all-rounder will look to revive his dwindling fortunes in the IPL after a good showing at the recently concluded CPL.

Hardik Pandya: Back for injury and raring to produce those whirlwind cameos, Hardik Pandya is a game changer with his belligerent strokeplay towards the end of the innings. A proven success at the IPL, the Baroda lad will once again assume his duties to provide the late flourish with his lofty hitting. Add to that, his medium pace which will compliment the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult.

Krunal Pandya: The senior of the Pandya brothers made an impact of sorts last year and will don the role of the spin all-rounder in the MI playing eleven to add depth to the spin armoury. A smart operator, Krunal just like his brother Hardik can be lethal with the bat and get in a couple of quick overs with his spin.

FAST BOWLING 

Bumrah, Boult and Pattinson could form a lethal new ball attack

Jasprit Bumrah: In the absence of Lasith Malinga, Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will lead the seam attack with distinction. The outright strike bowler has proven to be both a wicket taker and a run choker with both the new and the old ball with reverse swings. 'Boom Boom' Bumrah will look to make early strikes and choke the opposition at the death with those lethal yorkers.

Trent Boult: One of the best left arm seamers in the world, Trent Boult's inclusion in the Mumbai Indians seam attack will surely bolster the pace unit. The left-armer can make the ball seam and swing both ways could form a lethal new ball trio with Bumrah and Kiwi teammate McClenaghan

James Pattinson: Mumbai Indians signed in Australian speedster James Pattinson as a replacement for their fast bowling great Lasith Malinga who pulled out of the tournament citing personal reasons. Pattinson has brisk pace and has the ability to extract good bounce by hitting the right areas on the 22 yards.

Rahul Chahar is the lone frontline spinner

Rahul Chahar: With the conditions conducive for spinners in the UAE, Rahul Chahar will have his task cut out to lead his team's spin armoury. After taking over from Mayank Markande as the lead spinner, Chahar's form with the ball will be critical to Mumbai Indians fortunes.

The Support Cast

Mumbai Indians do have a strong bench and depth in their squad to rotate and revolve players if any of their star campaigners do not perform consistently in the role assigned to them. MI have a strong pool of domestic players in Dhawal Kulkarni, Saurabh Tiwari, Jayant Yadav and Anukul Roy who have fared well for Mumbai and other state teams in the domestic T20 tournaments.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain), Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Quinton de Kock (w-k), Aditya Tare (w-k), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaspreet Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Digvijay Deshmukh, Jayant Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson