The players’ auction for IPL 2020 came to an end a few weeks back and it was quite an event. Pat Cummins got picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a whopping 15.5 crores which was an IPL record.  Now we know how all the squads look heading into the new season. Just a mere look at the squads will tell you how competitive next year’s competition is going to be and it would be great practice before the ICC T20 World Cup in October next year.

Mumbai Indians- the franchise led by Rohit Sharma will be gunning for another successful season this year and they have made some smart purchases in this year’s auctions. Chris Lynn and Nathan Coulter-Nile were the big buys from the defending champions, while Saurabh Tiwary, Mohsin Khan, and Balwant Rai Singh were the inexpensive buys.

Mumbai Indians have always been renowned for their ability to unearth Indian talent. Talented leg-spinner Rahul Chahar was the one who came up with the goods last season and will the trend continue next season? Only time will tell.

Here, we are going to take a look at the three reasons why MI will not defend their title in IPL 2020 despite having a strong squad in place:

1. Backup options lack potency

The IPL is not an average T20 tournament. It’s a proper league that goes on for roughly two months. Hence, it is almost mandatory to have big squads and back-ups for your star players. At any point, the big players could get injured or could lose steam during the course of the tournament.

The thing is- Mumbai Indians don’t just have backups for the sake of it. They have some real quality on their bench, but the problem is can they be potent and effective enough? It’s important to have good options to replace the settled playing XI but there needs to be the real quality with players in form.

The likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Shefrane Rutherford, Mitchell McClenaghan and Dhawal Kulkarni are the players that will not play every game and yet, some of those overseas players will easily fit into the starting XI of other sides. That is the big positive for MI but yet again the likes of Chris Lynn or Shefane Rutherford have amazing potential but have been found wanting against spin. It will be interesting to see how Mumbai Indians will utilize them.

Mumbai Indians came into the auctions for IPL 2020 with a clear plan – to sign quality back-ups for a squad already full of superstars and the management did a brilliant job at that. If Lasith Malinga gets injured, Coulter-Nile can replace him, Boult has a replacement in McClenaghan, while Quinton de Kock has a replacement in Chris Lynn.

On the flip side, these same set of players who are as backup for the big guns need to deliver from the word go. The immense pressure of playing for the defending champions in a tournament like the IPL is extremely daunted. Some of the best in T20s like Chris Lynn could be a big hit or he may misfire completely. The major reason for many other franchises letting go of the players MI bought in the auction is that they underperformed in previous years.

2. Lack of quality spin bowling options

Mumbai Indians have invested in many talents and that’s been a hallmark of the Mukesh Ambani-owned franchise. The likes of Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and even Rohit Sharma blossomed and grew by playing for MI and then carried that to the international circuit. Mumbai has been one franchise that’s given India the most number of players transitioning from franchise to international level.

Their current squad boasts of having among the better players in T20 cricket- Lasith Malinga, Rohit Sharma, Quinton De Kock, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. A closer look into their squad would give other franchises some hope. However, they lack quality spin bowling options apart from Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya.

Mumbai Indians seemed to have an excess of seam-bowling options that their spin-bowling looks bleak. Rahul Chahar is the lone option that conveys the impression of a wicket-taker while Krunal Pandya and Jayant Yadav are more likely to play the role of supporting bowlers.

Though their home ground, Wankhede assists the seamers, away games can hurt the four-time champions having a shortage of spinners. And also, it’s always better to have one frontline spinner in your squad who is actively playing for an international country, which the current title holders don’t have.

3. Form and fitness of some of the big guns

Mumbai Indians have always been known to hand young and upcoming players the right platform to flourish. They have produced and nurtured the likes of Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah, who have proven their worth to the side in the previous editions of the IPL.

With the likes of Rahul Chahar and Ishan Kishan among other youngsters also keen to make a big impact for MI, the squad does have a fair share of exciting young players but the side also hosts some experienced stars such as Kieron Pollard, Rohit Sharma and Lasith Malinga to name a few.

The IPL is a long tournament and involves facing the best in the business, and the experience added to the side is undoubtedly a big plus. In Rohit Sharma and Lasith Malinga, who have played more than 250 IPL games combined and the trio of Hardik, Bumrah and Krunal, three players have quite a lot of experience.

The major area of concern is the form and fitness of their bigwigs. Hardik Pandya remains unfit and unavailable for selection for India, Jasprit Bumrah has just made a comeback into the national side after a prolonged injury lay-off and the likes of Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard and Lasith Malinga haven’t done anything special in T20 cricket in the past 12-15 months.

How will the squad hold up when the IPL starts? With Rohit Sharma going through a purple patch, he would expect the other players who have adequate T20 and IPL experience to stay fit and fire on all cylinders. This is a gamble that every franchise takes- they get the best possible balance to their squad and hope the core team sticks together and delivers.