Last few days have not been rosy for the defending champions Mumbai Indians, as they lost their regular skipper Rohit Sharma because of multiple injuries but are still heading as favorites against Lahore Lions in the qualifiers.
Mumbai Indians are to play the qualifying matches, unlike Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders, but are likely to move to the group stages, despite missing their regular captain.
West Indies Kieron Pollard has replaced Rohit as the skipper but the Mumbai-based franchise will surely miss their talisman, who is also their leading run-getter.
“We all know Rohit was their leader,” Lions skipper Mohammad Hafeez said. “He was leading the side so they are definitely going to miss his leadership. Also he is one of the key players for the Mumbai Indians. I personally feel that they will miss his leadership.”
The match between them is also termed as an India-Pakistan but with the presence of foreigners in the squad it is unlikely to produce a same spark but still there are plenty of things to look forward in the forthcoming encounter.
Mumbai, even without Rohit, has an explosive batting line-up, featuring Black Caps Corey Anderson, skipper Pollard, Michael Hussey and Lendl Simmons. Pollard has been instrumental in Mumbai’s many wins, while Simmons and Anderson also helped their part in the team.
The Mumbai-based franchise also has a balanced bowling attack, with Lasith Malinga, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha. It will be interesting to see whether Mumbai play their two frontline spinners and bank on all-rounders like Anderson and Pollard.
Meanwhile, it is not going to be a walk in the park for the reigning champions as they are up against a talented Pakistani team that features national team regulars. Hafeez, Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad have already proved themselves in the international stage, while Nasir Jamshed is also quite handy.
Lahore Lions are Pakistan national T20 champions and have played together for a long time, unlike Mumbai players that came together for certain period of time. They know each other quite well and that could fall into their advantage in the forthcoming encounter.
“To be honest, as a team we have got everything,” Hafeez pointed out. “You will see in a couple of days that we have strength in out batting as well as our bowling. And we are blessed with some good gutsy youngsters. They haven’t yet represented the country but are hungry to do that.”
“And we have six international players in our side,” he added. “So as a team we are confident that we will put up a better show in this tournament.”
Squads: Mumbai Indians: Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar, Aditya Tare, Jalaj Saxena, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal, Michael Hussey, Kieron Pollard, Corey Anderson, Lasith Malinga, Marchant de Lange and Lendl Simmons.
Lahore Lions: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Siddique Khan, Mohammad Umar Akmal, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Salman Ali, Asif Raza, Mohammad Mustafa Iqbal, Wahab Riaz, Aizaz Cheema, Imran Ali, Saad Naseem, Adnan Rasool, Mohammad Saeed and Ali Manzoor.
