IPL 2020 | Coulter-Nile batting at No.7 will add tremendous balance to Mumbai, believes Harsha Bhogle

For any other team in the world, losing a player of the calibre of Lasith Malinga would have been a devastating, dream-crushing blow, but not for Mumbai Indians. Despite already boasting the best pace duo in the entire competition, the defending champs bolstered their squad in the auction by purchasing two more world-class quicks - Trent Boult and Nathan Coulter-Nile - and now, in retrospect, this move has turned out to be a masterstroke.

“So what that means is that there are 6 bowling options straightaway - there are the two Pandyas, Bumrah, you have Rahul Chahar as well, you have Anukul Roy, you play two overseas fast bowlers and on top of that you've got Pollard. So if Coulter-Nile can deliver at No.7, Anukul Roy can bat as well, then they've got batting down to No.8.” 

"The question is - do they want to have a floater like Ishan Kishan at 4 or 7 and move all the big-hitters (Pollard and the Pandyas) up or do they want to play an extra slow bowler and move Pollard or Hardik to 4. I'd love to see Hardik get that responsibility. They have so much flexibility within their solid core.”

Despite having delivered the team the title in 2019 and despite standing tall as the most successful captain in IPL history, Rohit Sharma’s form with the bat in the IPL, especially of late, has been a cause for concern for Mumbai. The 33-year-old averaged under 30 in each of the last 3 seasons and in 2019, only managed to score two fifties in 15 innings. Bhogle noted how Mumbai have dominated the IPL despite Rohit’s fidgety form with the bat and stated that the defending champions would decimate IPL 2020 should ‘Hitman’ find his touch. The renowned commentator also described an in-form Rohit-de Kock partnership as a ‘dream opening pair’.