Mumbai Indians have been one of the most successful IPL teams ever. They’ve not only won the most number of IPL trophies but have also won the most number of matches in the history of the league. One of the primary reasons for their success over the years has been their opening pairs. Right from Tendulkar-Jayasuriya to Tendulkar-Smith to Rohit-QDK, they have always had multiple successful opening pairs.
The Mumbai Indians have Rohit Sharma, Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock, and Ishan Kishan as potential openers. They have to choose a pair whom they think will be the ideal combination in the UAE. Today we shall be talking about five such opening combinations MI could try in this 13th edition of the league.
1) Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock:
This was the same opening pair that played for MI in 15 out of the 16 games last season. The MI Skipper is best at the top, and with someone like QDK around, he could take his time and play the responsible innings more often than not. Opening with arguably two of the most excellent openers of this era would be a nightmare for the opposition bowlers. If the pitch is flat, De Kock will have the license to go hammer and tongs from the first ball. In this case, a partner like Rohit Sharma will have the time to get his eye in before taking the aggressive route. MI can then bring in Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan if De Kock fails with Sharma holding the other end. The South African limited-overs skipper has scored 1456 runs in the IPL at a strike rate of 131.29 and has recorded 10 fifties and a century.
2) Rohit Sharma and Chris Lynn:
MI has the luxury of replacing QDK with Lynn; this is if the SA T20I captain isn’t at his best. Other teams dream of having an aggressive T20 specialist like Chris Lynn, MI might not even start their campaign with him. The Rohit-Lynn combination, however, could very well be a possibility considering the fact that Lynn had an excellent IPL season last year. Besides, they would be tempted to rest QDK and give Lynn a go for a few matches in the group stage of IPL 2020. Having Rohit Sharma as a batting partner would give Lynn the luxury to strike from ball one as Rohit could hold the innings from the other end.
3) Chris Lynn and Quinton De Kock:
This might shock a few fans, but MI could consider opening with QDK and Lynn. Before IPL 2019, Rohit Sharma use to bat at 3, sometimes even four mostly. If he decides not to open and if Pollard isn’t at his best, this is one dreaded combination that we might get to see. This opening combination would be very dreadful for the opposition bowlers, however.
4) Suryakumar Yadav and Quinton De Kock:
As mentioned earlier, Rohit Sharma never opened the innings regularly for MI before 2019, and Pollard is too good to be dropped. Hence SKY and QDK could open together as well. SKY was very successful as an opener for MI in IPL 2018. If Rohit Sharma does decide not to open, then this could very well be another opening combination MI could try.
5) Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav:
This is unlikely to happen, but if QDK and Lynn get injured midway of the tournament or lose their form, Suryakumar Yadav could see himself opening with MI’s skipper. Despite being a last resort, this opening combination looks pretty decent. The fact that MI’s least preferred opening pair looks so strong indicates the number of options Mumbai Indians have.