Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has picked a pretty safe Mumbai Indians Playing XI, where he’s picked its skipper Rohit Sharma to open the innings along with Suryakumar Yadav, followed by Quinton de Kock at 3. Gavaskar picked the young wicketkeeper batsman Ishan Kishan to bat at No. 4, followed by the likes of Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandua at 4, 5 and 6.

Having selected three fast bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and Nathan Coulter-Nile, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar is the line specialist spinner in his MI line-up.

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Four-time champions MI may start as one of the strongest sides or favourites to win the IPL 2020, but as per Gavaskar, the team is grappling a couple of concerns ahead of their title defence. Gavaskar believes MI may struggle in two departments, one of which is a lack of experienced spinners.

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And rightly so. MI have Chahar as the only specialist spinner, while all-rounder Pandya and Anukul Roy are more than capable of picking up wickets. But on surfaces of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, which have traditionally assisted spin, just how well MI manages their spinners will be interesting to see.

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“Yes, you can say that because they do not have the experienced spinners that other sides have,” Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Tak.

Besides a lack of depth in their spin department, Gavaskar has raised concerns over their middle-order. MI boasts a strong middle order with the likes of Pollard, Yadav, the Pandya brothers and Ishan Kishan in their ranks, but what Gavaskar feels might cause a bit of dilemma is deciding the positions they’re going to bat at.

“The other thing that can be a weakness is middle order. They will have to think who will bat at No.4 and No.5 position. If Quinton de Kock plays, then he will open with either Rohit Sharma or Suryakumar Yadav,” Gavaskar added.

“Ishan Kishan might come in at No.4, he can also open the innings. Kieron Pollard can come in at No.5. Maybe Hardik Pandya can be promoted to No.4. But if that doesn’t happen then who will play at No.4?”

Sunil Gavaskar’s MI Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult/Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah.