Mahela Jayawardene is back as the Head Coach of Mumbai Indians. In the last few seasons, Mumbai Indians have not been great. Mahela’s initial task will be to streamline the combination of the squad. He could also target some of his former players to achieve the same. On that note, here, we take a look at the list of three players from his successful MI squad whom Mahela Jayawardene might target again.
1) Trent Boult
Ever since Trent Boult left Mumbai Indians, the franchise has not been able to find a good partner for Jasprit Bumrah. Rajasthan Royals are unlikely to retain Boult and hence, MI can target the Kiwi.
Now, it is a common tactic to make less use of Bumrah in the powerplay and keep him for the death. With Trent Boult on the side, this can become an aggressive tactic for the side.
2) Krunal Pandya
Krunal Pandya is one of the players from his successful MI squad whom Mahela Jayawardene might target again. Mumbai Indians have not had a good spinner in the last three seasons. Also, when some early wickets fell, they did not have a good floater in the team.
Krunal Pandya still does the same tasks and hence, he can be of great use to the side. Even Krunal might want a challenge elsewhere that could push him to become a part of the Indian side. Especially if Hardik is still at MI, Krunal might insist on coming back to the franchise.
3) Nitish Rana
In 2017, Nitish Rana had a good role to play in helping MI win the trophy. If MI cannot retain Tilak Varma, Nitish Rana can be an alternate option.
Even otherwise, Nitish can be the extra batter for the team. With the Impact Player Rule, each team can have an extra batter and it will be a luxury to have someone like Nitish in the squad.