IPL 2022: Mumbai Indians Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Cheatsheet, Strongest Playing XI, Squad Depth and Player Updates
A look at the team combinations, depth chart, recent form, and the fantasy potential of key players from the Mumbai Indians camp ahead of IPL 2022.
Coach: Mahela Jayawardene
Captain: Rohit Sharma
IPL 2021 Finish: Group Stage Exit (5th Place)
Mumbai Indians Team Composition & Combinations for IPL 2022:
The Mumbai Indians team management have made it clear that Ishan Kishan will partner their captain Rohit Sharma at the top this season where he has been impactful for them in the past. SuryaKumar Yadav will continue his role at No.3 with Pollard and Tim David playing in the lower middle-order. Sanjay Yadav will reprise the role Krunal Pandya used to play for MI and Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, a local legspinner and one out of Sams/Meredith will complete the bowling attack.
The No.4 position
Tilak Varma is the front-runner for this spot, but considering his inexperience and the heavy demands of this role there are less chances of him succeeding with the bat at that position. As it used to happen with Kishan, MI will look to replace him with another option at some point in the tournament if the runs don’t come from his bat.
The overseas pace option
MI’s strategy over the years has been playing two overseas quicks alongside an Indian pacer and spinners since Indian quicks are a rare commodity. They have four such options in the squad but Archer won’t play this season and with Tymal Mills locked for the first spot, it leaves MI with the option of choosing one between Sams and Meredith. They’re likely to start with Sams considering his batting skills but if he doesn’t perform as expected they won’t mind moving towards Meredith.
The legspinner’s spot
Similar to Sams and Meredith, Murugan Ashwin and Mayank Markande will be fighting for a sole spot in the eleven. Ashwin will start courtesy of his experience and the batting depth he provides but the results need to be steady to sustain his spot in the playing eleven.
Mumbai Indians Fantasy Cricket Cheat Sheet for IPL 2022
STUD
Players who have proven themselves to be top-scoring fantasy players and are popular.
Jasprit Bumrah – Unarguably the best bowler in T20 cricket currently, Jasprit Bumrah will once again represent Mumbai Indians in the IPL after being retained by them. Since 2018, he averages 40 Dream11 bowling points per match and crosses the 50 point mark once every 2.2 games. Picking him in your fantasy team should be a no-brainer.
Ishan Kishan – Ishan Kishan’s best batting position in T20 cricket is the opening spot where he averages a healthy 42.6 and strikes at 142. He was mostly used at No. 3 & 4 by Mumbai Indians due to the presence of Rohit and Quinton de Kock at the top. With Q de Kock not retained by MI this season, Kishan will not only get the opening spot but also the wicket-keeping duties which increases his fantasy potential by multi-fold. Since 2018, he averages 38 Dream11 batting points per game which is only likely to increase.
BANKERS
The players who provide good value for their credits and can be banked upon for consistent returns.
SuryaKumar Yadav – He has been MI’s best batter in recent years alongside Quinton de Kock averaging 40 Dream11 batting points per game since 2018. He is coming off a finger injury sustained during the T20I series against West Indies but had displayed great form before he sustained the injury.
Rohit Sharma – His numbers in the IPL in recent years haven’t been up to the mark due to several reasons such as him dropping down to No. 4 in 2018 or his constant struggle with injuries. He started strong during the India leg last year but his form waned as the season went on. He averages 35 Dream11 batting points per game since 2018 which might increase with the IPL now being held in Mumbai, his hometown.
Note – Avoid picking Rohit if the opponent has a quality spin bowling attack.
Tymal Mills – Hard lengths or heavy ball as they call it is his stock ball in T20 cricket and he relies upon them a lot in the death overs, an area in which he has specialised. He will partner Bumrah at the death this season and will be amongst the wickets. In all T20s since 2018, he averages in excess of 35 Dream11 bowling points per game and crosses the 50 point mark roughly once every 2.5 matches.
TRAP
The players who seem like good buys, but won’t score enough points to justify their credits or hype.
Tim David – He has been the talk of the town after MI picked him for 8.25 crores in the auction. He’s in terrific form with the bat as evident by his exploits in the PSL and BBL. But the MI management has hinted at playing him at No.6 which obviously means he’ll enjoy less game time with the bat. In all T20s since 2018, he averages 28 Dream11 batting points and crosses the 50 point mark only once every 5.25 games.
Note – Beware of falling for the all-rounder tag since he has only 8 T20 career wickets.
Daniel Sams – The left-arm seamer is usually a handy fantasy option in leagues like BBL, but at MI his role is likely to be restricted to that of a Powerplay specialist as Mills and Bumrah would bowl at the death which reduces his fantasy potential. His batting value also drops since he’ll bat low for MI unlike Sydney Thunder where he gets to bat at No.6 or 7. He will also face a stern test from Meredith for his spot as discussed in the team construction section.
Note – Since 2018, Mumbai Indians No.8 batter faces 6 balls on average per game.
SLEEPER
The players who provide decent enough value but is undervalued or is just not a well-known player.
Sanjay Yadav – The Krunal Pandya replacement will be making his IPL debut this season for the Mumbai Indians. A good utility player, his fantasy value depends on how MI use him with both bat and ball. As evident by their usage of Krunal, they should get good value out of him by floating him up the order and bowling him against certain batters depending on the match-ups on offer.
Note – Pick Sanjay Yadav if the opponent batting attack has a high number of right-handers or their bowling attack contains a legspinner and a left-arm spinner.
RISKY BUSINESS
The players who carry an element of risk with them which may be due to bad form, injury, lack of game time, etc……
Kieron Pollard – Lower middle-order batters are mostly unreliable as far as fantasy cricket is concerned since they enjoy less game time and are required to take a riskier approach. Pollard averages 26 Dream11 IPL batting points per game and crosses the 50 point mark only once every 4.4 games which is roughly thrice in a season.
Note – His bowling skills will be employed less this season in the presence of Tim David and Sanjay Yadav.
Murugan Ashwin – The current venues for the IPL apart from Pune doesn’t assist leg-spinners, especially Wankhede where MI will play four of their league games. He will also face some competition for his spot from Markande as discussed above.
FLEX
The players whose credit values are less but still provide some decent value thereby helping to balance out the lineup.
Tilak Varma – As discussed above in the team combinations section he’s a certain starter. A handy pick who wouldn’t be a burden on the purse.
Riley Meredith – A quick hit-the-deck bowler Meredith was in decent form in the recently concluded BBL and wouldn’t be a bad budget pick.
Opponent Fantasy Value:
Every team is vulnerable to a certain batting type or a bowler type depending on their setup. For example, a batting unit full of right-handers will be vulnerable against left-arm spinners and wristspinners or a bowling attack void of any quality new-ball bowlers will leak runs in the Powerplay and allow the openers to score freely. These vulnerabilities of the team allows certain player types from opponent sides to perform freely against them which can be used to pick those player types from the opponent side in your fantasy team. As far as Mumbai Indians are concerned, you can pick the player types listed below from the opponent side if those player types are available.
- Spin Hitters
- Anchors who can smoke spin and are competent vs high pace
- Hit the deck pacers at the death