Strengths
The Indian core. Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have been the four pillars on whom the Mumbai Indians have build their consistency and success, over the years. In order to a fifth title, these four have to do well.
Having dual firepower, in the form of Quinton de Kock at the top and Kieron Pollard in the middle, could also serve the franchise well this season.
Weaknesses
Lack of spin bowling options. With more and more talk of how conditions in the UAE are likely to assist slow bowlers, Mumbai Indians will have to back Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya to do the bulk of the work as far as spin bowling is concerned.
In the reserves, they have Anukul Roy, Jayant Yadav, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, but Chahar and Pandya hold the key for them, as far as getting them the wickets are concerned in the middle-overs of an innings.
A minor worry for them could also be that with Lasith Malinga, the death bowling will rely almost entirely on Bumrah. He will hope for someone to help him during the course of the tournament,
Opportunities
Like it is the case with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, this IPL provides an opportunity for Hardik Pandya in the Mumbai Indians setup to regain his old touch and get back to being the all-round player that he has been for India, in the last few years.
Sharma will hope he can give the side four overs with the ball, but it is where he bats that will be interesting. Ishan Kishan has been listed as the designated number four, but if Mumbai Indians can use Pandya at that slot, he could prove to be devastating for the side.
Threats
The perennial threat with the Mumbai Indians has always been about how they start the competition. Historically, the franchise have been notorious to start slow, but have picked up steam as the tournament has moved on and peaked towards the end and win the title.
Hopefully, though, for them that does not prove to be the case because most of the players will come into the tournament having not played a lot and so an early stumble could mean there would be additional pressure on them in every game to deliver the goods.
