'Jasprit Bumrah is there...' - Sunil Gavaskar highlights Mumbai Indians' critical vulnerability

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar pointed out the weakness in the Mumbai Indians (MI) lineup ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He believes that the five-time champions lack death bowling even though Jasprit Bumrah is there.

Going into the IPL 2024, Mumbai Indians will be one of the hot favorites to win the tournament. The kind of balance that they have apart from the big names and young superstars separates them from other teams in the upcoming 17th edition of the league.

Mumbai Indians will be captained by Hardik Pandya, who arguably is India’s best all-rounder. The top order will be packed with big Indian names Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav, who will miss the first game but is expected to join the team for the second game.

Young Tilak Varma, Australian hard-hitting batter Tim David, and skipper Hardik Pandya will be commanding the middle and the lower order. The bowling for them looks decent as well as Jasprit Bumrah will be back in Mumbai colors after missing the last season due to an injury.

Jasprit Bumrah’s return makes the Mumbai Indians’ bowling lineup different altogether. They have some foreign names in the ranks as well in Gerald Coetzee, Luke Wood, and Nuwan Thushara alongside hero of the last year Akash Madhwal, who impressed many with his death bowling skills.

Despite all areas being covered for Mumbai Indians, Sunil Gavaskar highlighted the weakness of the five-time champions. He believes that Jasprit Bumrah can restrict runs in the death but from the other end, runs will be leaked. Speaking to Star Sports, he explained:

“Death over bowling. Bumrah is there but maybe from the other side runs will be leaked. So this I think is a weakness in the Mumbai Indians side.”

Mumbai Indians will open their campaign in the IPL 2024 against Gujarat Titans (GT) on 24th March at the Narendra Modi International Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Sunil Gavaskar picks player to watch out for in the IPL 2024

Sunil Gavaskar further picked the player to watch out for in the IPL 2024. He believes that Rajasthan Royals (RR) keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel can set the stage on fire in the upcoming edition of the league. The batting great feels that young batter can get promotion up the order. He added:

“Dhruv Jurel can be that person definitely. The way he has batted this year and the way he batted in the IPL last IPL, he can definitely get a promotion up the order.”

Dhruv Jurel impressed many with his batting during the Test series against England. He made his debut for the team in the longest format of the game and made sure that he stood tall for the team in difficult situations and helped them win the game.

During the last edition of the league, Dhruv Jurel mustered  152 runs for RR in the IPL 2023 season at a strike rate of 172.73. He would be hoping to double his number this time around and help Rajasthan Royals win the title.