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Wicket-machine Boom and MAsh magic: MI’s bowlers for 2022

By Mumbai Indians

With the Tata IPL 2022 getting ever closer, we take a brief look at each part of MI’s squad for the season.

We glanced through the batters on March 22nd and now it is time for the bowlers.

Retaining Jasprit Bumrah was an easy choice and our arsenal also includes death specialist Tymal Mills, the fiery Riley Meredith, a veteran in Jaydev Unadkat and some spin magic in Murugan Ashwin.

Of course, Jofra Archer was another high-profile pick for us at the 2022 mega-auctions but Jof won’t be joining in with the squad this season as he continues to recover from injury.

Let’s look at some numbers.

Jasprit Bumrah

Boom is not just any bowler, he is a phenomenon. With 130 wickets for MI, he is the team’s second-highest wicket-taker in the Tata IPL, behind the legendary Lasith Malinga.

He concedes runs at an economy of 7.42, which is among the best in the league. If we look at phase-wise numbers, he concedes at less than 7 an over in the powerplay and middle overs, while only going at 8.5 an over at the death.

Of his total wickets, 63 - a little less than half have come in the last four overs, highlighting how important he is in the closing stages of a T20 innings.

Since 2020, Boom has also picked 48 wickets - the highest in the Tata IPL.

Jaydev Unadkat

Among the most experienced bowlers in the Tata IPL - he made his debut in 2010 - Jaydev Unadkat will don MI colours for the first time.

The natural left-armer’s angle and his stock of variations make Unadkat an exciting bowler.

Unadkat is at his best when bowling in the first 10 overs, where his economy rate is around 7.5.

His decade-long time at the Tata IPL, coupled with his 85 wickets should make him a good prospect for the bowling attack.

Tymal Mills

Tymal Mills’ arrival has ensured that MI have another death-overs specialist in the team, which could free up Boom to bowl some overs in other phases of play.

The Englishman, Mills, is among the best operators in the last four overs of a T20 innings. Since 2018, he has picked 42 wickets at the death at an economy rate of 7.78 and averaging just 14.83 runs per wicket.

He has 176 wickets in 156 games in all T20s since his debut in 2012 and that decade-long experience should be useful for MI.

Riley Meredith

Regularly clocking speeds of over 150kph, Australian Riley Meredith defines the word ‘quick’.

Playing T20s since 2018, the 25-year-old is someone who mixes control to go with his serious pace.

In 16 T20 matches in the 2020-21 season, he picked up 20 wickets - his highest tally in a season - at an economy rate of 7.77 and strike-rate of 18.4 balls.

In 2021-22, Meredith is hitting those numbers again. In 11 matches so far, he has 16 wickets at an economy rate of 7.94 but his strike-rate has dipped to a very good 13.5 balls.

Murugan Ashwin

From the rapid speedsters, we come to our most experienced spinner in leggie Murugan Ashwin or MAsh.

Predictably for a spinner, MAsh has mostly bowled between overs 7 and 15. Between overs 7 and 10, his economy rate is 6.74.

Interestingly in that period, MAsh’s record is better against left-hand batters - considered a negative match-up for leg-spinners - as he concedes runs at 6.38 an over. In contrast, his economy rate against right-hand batters between overs 7 and 10 is 7.10.

Another interesting aspect about MAsh is his death overs record - he only concedes runs at 7.5 an over, though he has only bowled to right-handers.

A key part of Tamil Nadu’s recent uptick in the white-ball formats, MAsh’s adaptability in different phases of the game will be a key asset for MI.

The variety and depth for each phase of the game makes MI’s bowling attack a well-rounded one.

Who do you think will pick the most wickets for us this season, Paltan?