Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on Wednesday arrived in Chennai ahead of the tournament opener of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The IPL 2021 is scheduled to be commencing on April 9 with MI locking horns with RCB in the tournament opener at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.
The five-time IPL champions once again looking to have a settled squad and will be the team to beat as the cash-rich league returns home after being held in the UAE last season. In a short video posted by Mumbai Indians after reaching Chennai, skipper, Rohit Sharma said, “Namaste Chennai!. Mumbai Indians are now here.”
Touchdown, Chennai! 🛬💙#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 @hardikpandya7 @Jaspritbumrah93 @ishankishan51 pic.twitter.com/tZOs2IfBjT
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 31, 2021
Chenn-hi 👋#OneFamily has arrived 💙#MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/6Yu0EvXP2k
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 31, 2021
The dominance of the franchise was evident when they registered a one-sided win against Delhi Capitals last year in the final without breaking a sweat. Over the past few years, the Rohit Sharma-led side has almost worn an invincible look owing to having a solid core and impeccable consistency.
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The MI core group does not just revolve around skipper Rohit but also has some quality performers in Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, and Kieron Pollard. It is safe to say that this franchise does not overly depend on its foreign players as the homegrown talent is so well equipped that they themselves can change the course of a match within minutes.
Even though the Mumbai-based franchise has won the title five times — 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020 — the franchise is yet to make it three consecutive titles in a row and that would definitely be an added motivation for the players to enter the record books.
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Mumbai Indians squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Aditya Tare, Anukul Roy, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Mohsin Khan, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Tiwary, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Jimmy Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar.