Mumbai: Though Mumbai Indians (MI) are a mere shadow of their old self and Delhi Capitals (DC) are hit by injuries and unavailability, both the teams would aim to start their 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign on a winning note.
The most battered franchise due to mega auction are the MI as they are without the services of Quinton de Kock, Pandya brothers and Trent Boult. Hence, onus lies on the core players, including Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard.
Rohit will be looking to open with Ishan Kishan to provide good starts with his guns-blazing-approach at the top.
With the majority league matches being played in Mumbai, it will be an advantage for both MI players, especially Ishan, who was bought for a staggering Rs 15.25 crore, to give their best.
MI would hope Tim David and Fabian Allen to play their roles as was played by Pandya brothers.
Tim, who is known for his hard-hitting shots, is the most expensive overseas all-rounder and a globe-trotter who has been playing in all the premier T20 tournaments, including Australia's Big Bash League with tremendous success.
MI have also roped in Australian fast bowling all-rounder Daniel Sams and Tymal Mills, who are geared up to make a splash in this year's IPL with bat and ball.
Mumbai also have Dewald Brevis, who is known as "Baby AB" and touted to be the next AB de Villiers, has a wide range of shots who could be handy in death overs.
The team also boasts of Mayank Markande and Murugan Ashwin, but might struggle in the absence of a premier spin bowling option.
In the fast bowling department, Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah are a deadly combination to send chills down the opposition's spine.
Meanwhile, DC are without Shikhar Dhawan, Marcus Stoinis and Kagiso Rabada, but they have done well in the auction to buy David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Mustafizur Rahman.
Ricky Ponting-led management will be hopeful of graduating to the next level in this year's IPL.
Warner, who was bought for Rs 6.25 crore, would love to give rollicking starts in company of pocket-rocket Prithvi Shaw at the top.
Mitchell Marsh, who comes in for Stoinis, would provide solidity at no.3 and provide a better bowling option.
Unfortunately, they are unavailable till at least April 6. Same is the case with Lungi Ngidi and Mustafizur who are unavailable due to the ongoing Bangladesh-South Africa series.
KS Bharat, who is a backup for Rishabh Pant, will be in contention with Mandeep Singh for No.5 spot as pure batsman. The former had played a couple of valuable knocks for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last year.
To add to their woes, Anrich Nortje, who was DC's leading wicket-takers over the last couple of years, is suffering from a hip injury and hasn't played any competitive cricket since the last T20 World Cup.
Chetan Sarkariya is likely to play alongside Khaleel Ahmed and the duo will be looking for early wickets.
Squads:
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Ramandeep Singh, SuryakumarYadav, Tilak Verma, Tim David, Arjun Tendulkar, Basil Thampi, Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Tymal Mills, Arshad Khan, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Fabian Allen, Kieron Pollard, Sanjay Yadav, Aryan Juyal and Ishan Kishan.
Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (Captain), Ashwin Hebbar, David Warner, Mandeep Singh, Prithvi Shaw, Rovman Powell, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Vicky Ostwal, Yash Dhull, KS Bharat and Tim Seifert. (UNI)
