Kieron Pollard has been named Mumbai Indians captain for the Champions League Twenty20 after Rohit Sharma was ruled out with injuries. Pollard has been with Mumbai since 2010, but has not led the team before this tournament. He had been captain of Barbados Tridents, winners of the Caribbean Premier League this season.
Anil Kumble, the Mumbai team mentor, welcomed the appointment. "I am confident that Kieron with his varied experience and impressive track record, will rise to the occasion, and align the Mumbai Indians for a competitive performance," he said.
Mumbai's squad also includes Harbhajan Singh, who led them to the 2012 Champions League title, and Lasith Malinga, who was Sri Lanka's captain when they won the World T20 four months ago, but a press release sent out by the franchise said Pollard was the "automatic choice" to lead in Rohit's absence.
Pollard has played 96 games for Mumbai, in which he has scored 1778 runs at a strike rate of 144.31, and taken 53 wickets.
Rohit has been replaced by Sushant Marathe in the squad
Defending champions Mumbai Indians should consider themselves lucky to be competing in the sixth edition of the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) after they picked up their performance in the later half of IPL 7 to finish fourth and get an entry into the CLT20 qualifying round.
Mumbai, in order to enter the main stage of the league, will face Lahore Lions, Northern Knights and Southern Express in the Qualifiers. With the CLT20 being played this time in India, Mumbai will have an edge over others being familiar with the home conditions. Should Mumbai qualify, they may be clubbed in Group B of the main round comprising Kings XI Punjab, Cape Cobras, Hobart Hurricanes and Barbados Tridents.
CLT20 has been a happy hunting ground for Mumbai having won the league twice (2011 and 2013), but this time around their campaign would be tough, though as a team they look none less than title contenders.
Holders Mumbai Indians won't start as favourites in this edition of CLT20 but have the potential and team to go the distance.
However, Mumbai have already hit a roadblock before the start of the tournament as their captain Rohit Sharma may miss out due to a finger injury he sustained on India's tour of England. Kieron Pollard might lead the team in his absence, but that decision is yet to be taken by the team management.
Bu the Mumbai outfit got a shot in the arm despite Rohit's injury when their overseas player Lasith Malinga, Corey Anderson and Pollard decided to play for their IPL team.
Key players: Pollard as a player brings energy to the team and his all-round skills on the field are an added asset. He would be an ideal choice as captain if Rohit fails to recover in time because Pollard has the experience of leading Barbados Tridents in the Carribean Premier League.
The second player in the team to watch out for would be slinger Malinga, who is a plus for any team in this format. His variations, toe-crushing yorkers in slog overs are handy any day.
Strengths: In the IPL, Mumbai, after Chennai Super Kings, is be the only side to not tamper much with the core group of players and therein lies their big strength. Moreover, with power-hitters like Anderson, Lendl Simmons, Michael Hussey and Pollard, Mumbai have a balanced batting line-up.
The success of every team is also attributed to the support staff and Mumbai have a great one headed by coach John Wright with positive contributions from former legspinner Anil Kumble. Both of them have done well to manage the talent pool in the squad.
Weaknesses: Mumbai can be slow starters at times, just like in their campaign in IPL 7. At the start they kept losing matches on the trot but somehow bounced back in the later half to finish fourth on the points table. But having to play the Qualifiers doesn't give them the luxury to settle down, so they need to fire right from the start.
If Rohit misses out, then that would be a big minus but other batsmen in the team have the ability to make up for his absence. Mumbai's bowling, especially the pace attack, lacks teeth as Malinga hardly gets support from the other end. Young Jasprit Bumrah features regularly in the eleven but due to inexperience sometimes sprays the ball all over.
Among others, old warhorses Harbhajan and Hussey will be the men to watch out for, along with power-hitting Anderson.
Though Mumbai have a nervous qualifiers to go through, one can put his money on the two-time champions to reach the main round and then take it from there.
Squad: Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar, Aditya Tare, Jalaj Saxena, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal, Mike Hussey, Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson, Lasith Malinga, Marchant De Lange, Lendl Simmons
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