IPL 2020: Rahul Dravid Points Out The Reason For Mumbai Indians Success

Former India captain, Rahul Dravid has said the key factor in the success of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL over the last decade had been their scouting system which identifies talented cricketers at a very young age.

Mumbai Indians defeated the Delhi Capitals in the final of the IPL 2020. They won the trophy for the fifth time – two more than the next best CSK – and also successfully defended their title. Since Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy mid-season in 2013, they won every odd year. However, MI broke their even year hoodoo in 2020.

They have maintained a solid core: Rahul Dravid.

Mumbai Indians’ playing eleven in the last five years have revolved around a few players who have been their strength and management had trusted them even when they were out of form. MI also has installed a strong scouting system that unearths talented youngsters- players like Jasprit Bumrah and the Pandya brothers are a testament to the success of their program.

Rahul Dravid, in a recent virtual book launch, said that MI in the past few years had maintained a strong core of high-quality players like Bumrah, Rohit, the Pandyas, Lasith Malinga, and Kieron Pollard. Dravid believes they have mixed these players with some talented youngsters.

The 47-year-old and former Rajasthan Royals captain observed that MI later added Rahul Chahar, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakuamr Yadav to their core of experienced senior players who provided a balance to the side. Rahul Dravid at the virtual launch of a book lauded the scouting structure of the IPL champions.

As quoted by india.com, Rahul Dravid said, “What MI has done over the last four-five years is that they have maintained a really strong core of high-quality players and mix them up by identifying some really good talented players.

“They have been able to spot Jasprit Bumrah or Hardik Pandya at a young age. Then there is Rahul Chahar, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav. The ability to maintain a core of very experienced senior players — world-class T20 players — and balance them out with young exciting Indian talents has been the key. They have been able to do that exceptionally well. They have got a good scouting structure in place; a lot of teams are doing it well.”

Dravid is currently the Director of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. He won the Under-19 World Cup as a coach in 2018.

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