After missing out the playoffs in the last two seasons – they even had their worst-ever IPL finish last year, languishing at the bottom of the table – the MI will be desperate, in the IPL 2023, to return to winning ways this year.
The five-time champions Mumbai Indians haven’t reached the playoffs in the last two IPL seasons
In the Indian Premier League 2023, though, Mumbai Indians will be without the services of their star fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah. They can take some boost in the fact that Jofra Archer is fit and available for the tournament after missing last year. In the auction, MI recorded the second-most expensive signing in the IPL, shelling out INR 17.5 crore for Cameron Green.
In the Indian League 2023, the BCCI has added the Impact Player , wherein a team can substitute a player – Indian only, if the team takes the field with 4 overseas players at the start of the match – at any point during the game. This allows the teams to be more flexible with their playing XIs, effectively getting the chance to have faculties of 12 players in a match, and tactics.
Already known to have a smart management, Paltans can use this Impact Player to some good use.
Here are 2 players Mumbai Indians can use as Impact Player in IPL 2023:
Vishnu Vinod
Kerala keeper-batsman who has earned a reputation for being a power-hitting destructive middle-order batsman. The 29-year-old has played 50 T20 matches, in which he averages 33 with a strike rate of 138 with 7 fifties.
Helping Kerala reach the knockout stages in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season, Kerala Keeper-Batsmen was impressive in the tournament with his clean finishes and showcased commendable temperament as he remained not out in 3 innings out of the 8 he batted in, scoring 140 runs at a strike rate of 135.
Vishnu Vinod played 3 matches for RCB in 2017
What perhaps drew MI to this power-hitter that is his death overs strike rate of 270 in T20 cricket. So in matches where MI bowl first, they can opt to use him as their Impact Player and bring him on for an Indian bowler who wouldn’t offer anything with the bat and use him in the second innings. Another way to use an extra batter is to have your Impact Player replace a dismissed batter.
Ramandeep Singh
Another Indian player that Paltans might think of using as an Impact Player could be all-rounder Ramandeep Singh, the 25-year-old Chandigarh all-rounder who made his IPL debut last year for MI and impressed everyone with his seam bowling: Ramandeep Singh picked up 6 wickets in 6 overs he bowled last season, including a three-wicket haul vs SRH.
He did well in domestic cricket, including taking a five-wicket haul against Baroda in a List-A match. He played a crucial role with bat and ball in Punjab reaching the semi-final of the SMAT.
So as explained above, MI can use him as a lower-order hitter and his bowling services as an Impact Player when they lose a wicket early in the innings and substitute in All-Rounder for a dismissed batter.
Mumbai Indians squad for IPL 2023:
Rohit Sharma (C), Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Dewald Brevis, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tristan Stubbs, Vishnu Vinod, Cameron Green, Arjun Tendulkar, Ramandeep Singh, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Arshad Khan, Duan Jansen, Piyush Chawla, Kumar Kartikeya, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal