Mumbai Indians have been the most successful IPL franchise, winning four titles in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. Here's an attempt to decode their success mantra and why they remain contenders for the IPL title.
Backing their players
Mumbai Indians always give their players a long rope, and it is only understandable. When you have picked a player, you must have seen something in him and should give him an extended opportunity. You simply don't have any other option but to trust his talent for at least three to four games, after which you can take a call.
Be it Lasith Malinga or Kieron Pollard, the legends have not performed over several matches but have been backed and have finally come good.
Even in IPL 2020, Quinton de Kock was not at his best in the first few games, but Mumbai decided to stick with him and reaped dividends.
Rohit Sharma's captaincy
Rohit Sharma is currently the vice-captain of India's white-ball outfit and is regarded as an astute cricketing brain by most analysts. Sharma took over the captaincy of the Mumbai Indians mid-season in 2013 from Ricky Ponting.
Rohit changed Mumbai's fortunes, leading them to victory in the same edition. He has won three more titles since then and has become the most successful captain in IPL history.
An admirable thing about Rohit Sharma's captaincy is his calm approach. Even if the team has lost two games, you won't see Rohit making drastic changes to his playing XI. He shows confidence in his players and more often than not, they deliver for the skipper.
Off the field as well, he shares a good rapport with his team-mates and is open to their suggestions, which keeps the team environment healthy.
Core set of players
Apart from captain Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya are the core players for Mumbai Indians, around whom they build their team. Before Lasith Malinga pulled out of IPL 2020, he too was part of this core.
The advantage of sticking with the same set of players for a long time is that each of them knows his roles and prepares accordingly. You do not have to stress your brain too much to think of matches that the likes of Pollard and Pandya have won for Mumbai. This is exactly what happens when you show faith in a player and back his ability.
