They are the second most successful team in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL), after Chennai Super Kings. Both the franchises have won the title three times each, but the Rohit Sharma-led lost out the 'most' tag thanks to their inconsistency.
Mumbai's three wins came from four final wins, that's a great win percentage, but Chennai have played seven finals in nine seasons. And they had also served a two-year ban. That's something else.
But Mumbai are in a prime spot to win their fourth title and make up for a poor run in the last season. In 2018, they finished fifth in the eight-team tournament.
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Skipper Rohit, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah have been retained by the franchise. Mumbai also used their Right to Match (RTM) card to retain all-rounders, Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya.
Krunal incidentally, was Mumbai's costliest buy during January's IPL auction, commanding a price of Rs 8.8 crore.
Mumbai will, however, miss the services of several key players including veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh – who moved to CSK, and promising batsman Nitish Rana – who moved to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Having said that, Mumbai will have a pool of young talent in the form of domestic players like young Ishan Kishan, Surya Kumar Yadav and Siddhesh Lad. These three newcomers could come in handy for the Rohit-led team.
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Mumbai Indians have also acquired the services of veteran all-rounder Yuvraj Singh for a price of Rs one crore. They have also brought back experienced Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga at his base price of Rs 2 crore. Off-spinner Jayant Yadav has also been acquired by the franchise.
Although Malinga has served Mumbai well in the past, both he and Yuvraj are well past their prime and it remains to be seen how they perform this season.
Mumbai had last won the IPL in 2017. They had finished at the top of the points table that season, winning 10 out of their 14 matches. They went on to win the trophy after beating Rising Pune Supergiants in a nail-biting final.
But their performance fell dramatically last season when they finished at the fifth spot after winning six of their matches and losing eight.
Rohit Sharma and his men will definitely want to forget those matches and redeem themselves this season.
Team Facts:
Winners (3): 2013, 2015 and 2017
Runners-up (1):2010
Captain: Rohit Sharma (IND)
Head Coach: Mahela Jayawardene (SL)
Batting Coach: Robin Singh (IND)
Bowling Coach: Shane Bond (NZ)
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Squad:
Batsmen: Evin Lewis (Overseas/West Indies), Siddhesh Lad, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh
All-Rounders: Krunal Pandya, Ben Cutting (Overseas/Australia), Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard (Overseas/West Indies), Anukul Roy, Pankaj Jaiswal
Bowlers: Mayank Markande, Mitchell McClenaghan (Overseas/ New Zealand), Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Jason Behrendorff (Overseas/Australia), Lasith Malinga (Overseas/Sri Lanka), Adam Milne (Overseas/New Zealand), Barinder Sran
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Wicketkeepers: Aditya Tare, Quinton de Kock (Overseas/South Africa), Ishan Kishan
Home Fixtures:
1. March 24: vs Delhi Capitals (8 pm)
2. April 3: vs CSK (8 pm)
3. April 10: vs KXIP (8 pm)
4. April 13: vs Rajasthan Royals (4 pm)
5. April 15: vs RCB (8 pm)
6. May 2: vs Sunrisers (8 pm)
7. May 5: vs KKR (8 pm)
Team Records:
Matches Played - 169
Matches Won - 96
Highest Total - 223/6 vs Kings XI in 2017
Lowest Total - 87 All Out vs Kings XI Punjab in 2011, 87 All Out vs SunRisers Hyderabad in 2018
Individual Records:
Most Runs - Rohit Sharma (3596 in 137 matches, from 2011 to 2018)
Highest Score - Sanath Jayasuriya (114 not out vs Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Most Wickets - Lasith Malinga (179 in 127 matches, from (2009-2017
Best Bowling Figures - Lasith Malinga (5/13 vs Delhi Daredevils in 2011)
