1. Strength
The binding factor is the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. Without imposing himself on the team, Rohit has turned Mumbai an ambitious team that settles for nothing else other than victory. Of course, he is a batsman supreme too who can wither attacks in his inimitable style. Apart from his presence, Mumbai Indians' benefit from an array of players who thrive in T20 environment like Quinton de Kock, Kieron Pollard, Hardik and Krunal Pandya, Surya Kumar Yadav etc. Then they have two master bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga and don't write off the Sri Lankan veteran purely because of his age. It was his last over that delivered Mumbai the fourth title last year.
To add to an already impressive list, the Mumbai have also added the likes of Trent Boult and Chris Lynn to their line-up from the auction last year.
2. Weakness
On the paper, Mumbai Indians have little weakness. They are a well-rounded unit served by some excellent players. While they have a brilliant pace unit, the same cannot be said about their spin department. Their spin attack revolves around young leg-spinner Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya. But other than the duo, they really don't have a back-up and an off-day for them can hurt Mumbai. The pitches in UAE are traditionally slow and the Mumbai Indians just may feel the pinch of the absence of an experienced tweaker. Jayant Yadav too is there but the off-spinner has not really hit home in the shortest format.
3. Squad
Rohit Sharma, Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult, Chris Lynn, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Saurabh Tiwary, Mohsin Khan, Digvijay Deshmukh, Prince Balwant Rai Singh.
4. Stars to watch
Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan.
5. IPL prediction
They should make it to the play-offs without much hustle. The challenge for them will be to tame the pressure on them as defending champions and if they can do that Mumbai can really make an impact this time too.