Every successful cricket team has an ideal blend of youth and experience. The upcoming stars of tomorrow can learn a lot from the experienced players just by sharing a dressing room with them and pick up valuable tips on technique and by observing the preparation of the experienced player. As Sunil Gavaskar says temperament is what separates the men from the boys. Our team has a combination of experienced stalwarts and young budding talent willing to learn the ropes. Here are 5 players in our squad who are likely to excel in 2017 for MI.

Hardik Pandya

Hardik has been a revelation since he burst on the scene in Australia. He is a three dimensional cricketer in the sense that he contributes with the bat, bowls at a brisk pace and is a brilliant fielder. Recently, he has put on a yard of pace and Dhoni has had the confidence in him to make him open the attack in the last ODI series. A good all-rounder always lends balance to the team. Hardik almost led India to victory with an innings of 36 against New Zealand at Delhi. He was also selected in the Test squad but was unable to make his debut due to injury. Hardik can set the bar higher as he is capable of improving even further in both disciplines. He has worked hard to improve his fitness and the sky is the limit for him in 2017.

Krunal Pandya

Krunal was one of the shining stars for us during the last season of the IPL. He has put his hand up as an all-rounder to be reckoned with and a few more consistent performances from him can lead to selection in the national team. During the last season of the IPL, he scored 237 runs at a batting average of 39.5 and a batting strike rate of 191.12. He also took 6 wickets at an economy rate of 7.57. While he is not yet the finished article he has had a promising start to his career and if he can continue to make the progress that he has shown in the last few seasons he will be one of the main players to watch out for in 2017. His primary skill is his left arm orthodox spin but his batting has come on in leaps and bounds in the last edition of the IPL.

Siddhesh Lad

Siddhesh has is yet to play in the IPL, but is a shrewd investment as he has delivered the goods in the Ranji Trophy. He is someone who has been earmarked for future success based on promise and potential. Siddhesh played an instrumental role in piloting Mumbai into the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy in 2016-17. He played in 4 matches and scored 309 runs with 2 centuries. Mumbai beat Hyderabad in the quarter-finals in a nail-biter by a margin of 30 runs. Siddhesh contributions in the match were 110 and 46 and he was one of the main reasons for Mumbai progressing into the semi-finals where they take on Tamil Nadu. From what he has shown in his appearances for Mumbai, he has the ability to shine in the IPL, if he is given the opportunity.

Nitish Rana

Nitish is an attacking left handed batsman who bowls occasional off-spin. He did not get many opportunities in IPL 2016, but impressed in the few opportunities he got to showcase his talent. He played in 4 matches in IPL 2016 and scored 104 runs at a batting strike rate of 138.66. His overall batting strike rate in Twenty20 cricket is 149.86 and that fact that he scores at such a quick rate is a feather in his cap. With MI having a strong batting line–up it remains to be seen whether he features regularly in the playing XI, but it is heartening to know that we have such a capable understudy waiting in the wings.

Deepak Punia

Deepak Punia is a right arm medium pace bowler who is also capable of making useful runs down the order whenever he gets the opportunity. He was picked by MI in the 2016 IPL auction and is a valuable addition to the squad. He has played in 11 Twenty20 matches and has picked up 13 wickets with a personal best of 6/14. It is not often that a bowler picks 6 wickets in a Twenty20 game. He made his debut for Services 2 seasons ago before being part of the Saurashtra team that finished runners-up in the Ranji Trophy in 2015-16. His batting averages in First Class cricket, List A and Twenty20 are 20.63, 18 and 23.75 respectively which shows that he has the potential to develop into an all-rounder.

These are 5 MI players to watch out for in 2017. They can learn a lot just by rubbing shoulders with the international stars in the dressing room and this bodes well for our chances of clinching the Trophy in 2017.