Former England batsman Mark Butcher thinks that there is a part in which Mumbai Indians may lag behind in IPL 2021. Butcher said they look a ‘bit thin’ in the fast bowling department.
Mumbai Indians have won five IPL titles. They emerged victorious in 2019, did a double the next season and now stand on the verge of becoming the first franchise to win a hat-trick of titles. Mumbai Indians started working on desire to win the IPL 2021, with the reliable names forming the crux of their team composition. Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are the five players who pick for themselves in the Playing XI. And far from that, players like Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav and Trent Boult, make the Mumbai Indians even more stronger.
On The Wisden Weekly Podcast, Butcher said, “You know, I’m looking at the fast bowling resources… I wonder if maybe they are a little bit thin on the ground there. They have Bumrah, but he’s had his problems with injury. They might be a little bit thin in the fast-bowling department but they can still pretty much cover off everything else.”
Butcher added, “And also, you have a system that is successful. I was there when Ricky Ponting came over and was the coach for the first time. They needed to win something like seven on the bounce to qualify and they did. They lost their first five or six games and still won the tournament. They have this resilience and the winning experience that draws them over the line where other franchises go ‘here we go again.’ That’s what makes them tough to beat.”
