The Mumbai Indians have always been good at scouting young talent. Their knack for finding potential has helped unearth the likes of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and even Kieron Pollard in the early years. This season has been far from their best, but the Mumbai Indians have had one benefit of being eliminated early. They were able to try new players, and with an under-par auction, the Mumbai Indians had a lot of inexperienced players, who were yet to be tried. This season though, with Mumbai out early and the likes of Suryakumar Yadav injured, gave the Mumbai Indians a chance to try play new faces.

Among the newcomers, Tilak Varma was easily the most impressive. He played all fourteen games and looked least bothered, facing some of the best bowlers in the World. His technique and temperament stood out as Varma was Mumbai’s most consistent batter this season, after Suryakumar Yadav got ruled out. He was three runs short of 400 for the season, and is a candidate for the emerging player of the season. With Mumbai losing batting power in the form of De Kock and the Pandya brothers, Varma’s rise comes as a gift as Mumbai Indians can now start building another strong middle-order.

Another middle-order candidate who has impressed is Dewald Brevis. He has been termed Baby AB before the season and his shots show why he has such a tag. While Dewald Brevis didn’t get off to a flyer this season he had some decent starts. The starts provide were enough to give a decent insight on what Dewald Brevis has in store and how he can contribute to the batting line-up.

After Tilak Varma though, the biggest boost to the batting line-up would be Tim David. Tim David is already a huge name in the franchise circuit but after a poor season with RCB, David’s name fell a touch in India. Mumbai Indians though, showed their scouting and tactical skills yet again, and invested a fair bit in him. With Kieron Pollard inconsistent, the appointment of Tim David helps them find an explosive finisher, and David has given glimpses in his last two games, despite the poor start.

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With David, Varma and Brevis going strong, the Mumbai Indians have found some players who could be rotated around the likes of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, giving Mumbai five strong batters. In the bowling attack, Mumbai found some nice spinners, a hole in their side since Rahul Chahar left. Both Shokeen and Kartikeya were given a fair run in the side. With four to five games between them, the spinners maintained decent economy rates and showed that they have what it takes to hold their own in the IPL. They are still not the most aggressive and wicket-taking options, but are still young and have the ability to learn how to find wicket-taking deliveries.

The fast-bowling unit has also acquired some nice names this season. Daniel Sams got off to one of the worst starts in the IPL. He was expensive, and looked hopeless early on. As the games went on though, Sams improved and even beat David Miller in a final over shootout, defending nine runs. The game boosted his confidence and he became a consistent wicket-taker over the remainder of the season.

Another bowler who has impressed is Ramandeep Singh. Playing five games, Ramandeep has impressed with his ability to bowl a few overs at the death, and take wickets too. As a batter, Ramandeep has done enough to show that he is a capable middle to the lower-order batter, and with his skillset, he could play the role Hardik Pandya used to as a finisher who could bowl a couple of handy overs.

With some nice names in the spin and pace department coming up, the Mumbai line-up looks a little better than it did at the start of the season. The Mumbai Indians are normally slow starters after a mega auction, and next season they could be among the more dangerous sides now that they have found a balance in their line-up. With Jofra Archer primed to return, the bowling attack will look even stronger with Bumrah and Archer partnering up.