Can it ever get better than this for the players in Mumbai IndiansIJ After all they have the biggest cricket star cast that can ever be — Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jonty Rhodes, Shane Bond, Anil Kumble, John Wright and Robin Singh — in their corner to guide, advice and inspire them. If this can’t raise their game and inspire them to win, they should probably stop playing cricket!
However, in spite of the presence of so many stalwarts, the focus would be on Ponting, who is turning a new page in his life. After spending most of his life playing cricket and making bowlers’ lives hell, he has taken up the coaching role at the Mumbai Indians.
Ponting admitted that he was never a good T20 player but no one can question his understanding of the game of cricket. Moreover, he is a leader, a superb man-manager and knows what it takes to win - his record as Australia captain stands witness to that.The 40-year-old batting great, affectionately called Punter, is a known hard taskmaster who doesn’t like to be second. At the same time, he is approachable and likely to inculcate the same never-say-die attitude that made Australia in 2000s a nearly invincible unit. But, things work differently in India. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts with IPl culture that in itself includes many cultures, though he has been involved with MI for the last two years.
He shouldn’t be facing much problem in building a rapport with skipper Rohit Sharma. When Mumbai Indians won their only IPl title in 2013, it was Ponting who dropped himself from the team and handed over the captaincy to Rohit. Since then the duo has been working together and share mutual respect.
What makes things a bit easier for Ponting is that he has a very good unit at his disposal provided they all perform as per their reputation. It’s not as star-studded as MI’s support staff team but it’s a complete unit in the sense that they have like for like replacements for most positions.
Tried and tested middle-order (Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu and Corey Anderson) is their strength in batting but they have added some teeth to their opening slot with the inclusion of Aaron Finch. They have options for the second opener between lendl Simmons, Unmukt Chand and Parthiv Patel.
In bowling department, lasith Malinga could give some trouble to MI as he wasn’t at his best during the recent World Cup. They have added fresh energy in the pace department with Josh Hazelwood but he is untested on flat Indian tracks. However, Indian pace duo of Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun are in good shape having just helped their state team Karnataka win second successive domestic Ranji Trophy title. Similarly their spin section is strong on paper but Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha have a point or two to prove in the coming season. Shreyas Gopal, though, is there to replace them if need arises.