Lasith Malinga is an ideal bowling spearhead for any T20 team, in any conditions. He has been an outstanding team man, a terrific contributor for the Mumbai Indians over the years. Every single stat suggests he is one of the best T20 bowlers, if not the best. From taking wickets upfront, to cleaning sides up in the death overs, he has done it all, time and again, for the Mumbai Indians. And that is a reason why he has one of the best economy rates in the history of IPL, just 6.53 runs per over, over six seasons. Malinga is someone who can win T20 games for his team single-handedly, and that can’t be said about too many bowlers in the world. His ability to bowl deadly Yorkers and impeccable slower ones, makes him second to none as far as death bowling is concerned.

Mumbai Indians have got a good variation in the pace department. To support Malinga, they have got Josh Hazlewood, one of the fastest rising stars in world cricket currently. Hazlewood is coming on the back of an excellent World Cup for Australia. His ability to get the ball to bounce from good length, and his accuracy makes Hazlewood a man to watch out for.

Then they have the pace of South African Marchant de Lange, a man who can bowl at and above 150 kmph. That pace and bounce can certainly come in handy when batsmen are looking to go after the bowling, especially in Power-play. Then they have the Karnataka duo of Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun. Kumar has often bowled at the death successfully for other teams in the IPL in the past. It’s a great asset to have two good death bowlers in your team, and that’s what makes Mumbai Indians a strong unit. Mithun can surprise batsmen with his pace and bounce. He has learnt with experience, and can be a good support bowler to the likes of Malinga, Hazlewood. Same applies to Jasprit Bumrah, who surprised many with his pace, last season. To add to that, skipper Rohit Sharma can always go to the left-arm pace of Corey Anderson, who can bowl above 140kmph, and has the experience of bowling in Power-play as well as at the death. Kieron Pollard’s smart medium pace has often been used by Mumbai Indians captains in the past, and he can give the team some quiet overs in the middle.

Mumbai Indians have got all the bases covered in the spin department too. They have the wily, experienced Harbhajan Singh, easily one of the best spinners in the tournament. Like Malinga, Bhajji, as he is fondly known, has one of the best career economy rates in the IPL at 6.73. He has often opened the bowling for Mumbai Indians with great success, and that is something that not too many spinners can do in the T20 format. Harbhajan is just eight short of 100 IPL wickets, and the off-spinner would be looking to go past that mark comfortably in the league stages this season. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha is just three wickets further behind, and makes it a perfect spinning combination for Mumbai Indians. He and Bhajji, bowling in tandem, can really choke the opposition in the middle overs, and that makes them a duo to watch out for. They have got the variety of Karnataka leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal, who can be a tough customer to handle on certain tracks. Leg-spinners have done well in the IPL in the recent past, and Gopal would be keen to continue that trend on.