Meagre spin options the only weakness for solid Mumbai

Mumbai Indians' first step in the lead up to the 2018 season was to keep the core of their previous squad. They retained captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, and pulled the right-to-match strings to keep Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard. Those are five match-winners right there. When they had the opportunity to pick another player because of the injury to Jason Behrendorff, they also brought back ace T20 bowler Mitchell McClenaghan.

They have a weakness or two - which we will come to later - but Mumbai are a solid squad and will be firm contenders to win a record fourth IPL title. Unlike some other franchises, Mumbai's captain has lifted all three trophies for them and commands strong support from his dressing room and a stronger support from the local crowd. The ODI century in Port Elizabeth and two consecutive half-centuries to end the Nidahas Trophy will only add to Rohit's confidence.

When Mumbai won the title last year, their impressive middle order and bench strength played a key role. Because of the big auction this year, they had to let go of Nitish Rana and Ambati Rayudu among others, and bought local boys Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare and Siddhesh Lad, along with Saurabh Tiwary and JP Duminy once again. The middle order is taken care of.

Their bowling reserves are shallow though. Mumbai perhaps bought a few too many overseas quicks, which means there is no Indian pace bowler to assist or back up Bumrah, and no established spinner after they let go of Harbhajan Singh.

To make up for that deficit, Mumbai can use their allrounders: the Pandya brothers, Pollard, Ben Cutting, and maybe Duminy if they need his part-time spin to add an extra bowler to their combination because their home ground is batsman friendly. Mumbai have a formidable win-loss record at the Wankhede - 28-11 (2.54) over the last five years - only behind Rajasthan Royals' 3.75.

They have also invested in young blood - 13 uncapped players in their squad, more than any other team.

Along with their impressive record at home, Mumbai also have the ability to bounce back from the deepest pits, like they did last year at least twice - from 7 for 4 to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets, and to later clinch a one-run thriller despite being 74 for 7 in the final. This can be largely attributed to their middle order, comprising the Pandyas and Pollard. The depth there has enabled them to score at 11.23 per over in the end overs over the last three years - the best in that period - and to also strike more sixes than any other team (146).

Another aspect they will be thrilled about is their pace attack. McClenaghan's aggression, Bumrah's yorkers, Mustafizur's cutters and Cummins' pace is not an exhaustive list of skills.

Mumbai's only weakness this season? A lack of established spinners. The biggest name they have is Akila Dananjaya, who may not get many games because of the competition for overseas spots. And if wristspinners are going to take over the IPL too, they have only 18-year old Rahul Chahar. If Chennai Super Kings or Delhi Daredevils prepare slow and turning tracks when they host Mumbai, the visitors may struggle to play two quality spinners in their XI. If Bumrah's form drops or he gets injured, they don't have a proven Indian seamer to replace him.

Another concern for Mumbai might be picking Ishan Kishan as one opener, if they want Rohit to bat at No. 3. Kishan has impressed at the Under-19 and domestic levels but not on the big stages yet. What bodes well for him is that he finished the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy - the domestic 50-over tournament - with an impressive average of 78.25 and strike rate of 105 while scoring 313 runs.

This is a problem of plenty. If Mumbai open with the hard-hitting Evin Lewis and pick Kieron Pollard as one of the allrounders, they will be able to pick only two out of Mustafizur, Cummins, McClenaghan and Dananjaya among the bowlers. Which also leaves out Duminy and Cutting.

Pretty simple - make pacer-friendly tracks at home and chase whenever you can. The red soil used for the Wankhede pitch is going to help their quicks because of the extra bounce it provides.

1 Evin Lewis, 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav/Saurabh Tiwary, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Mitchell McClenaghan/Pat Cummins, 9 Mustafizur Rahman/Akila Dananjaya, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Rahul Chahar/Pradeep Sangwan

Mahela Jayawardene (head coach), Shane Bond (bowling coach), Lasith Malinga (bowling mentor), Robin Singh (batting coach), James Pamment (fielding coach).