J Yadav IPL 2021: Why are Mumbai Indians playing with only three overseas players vs Delhi Capitals?

Mumbai Indians playing with only three overseas players: The defending champions have made a lone change to their Playing XI for this match.

During the 13th match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians in Chennai, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and chose to bat.

“We are gonna bat first. This one looks a little more drier compared to the last few games. We just got to to do or basics right. On a pitch like that, it’s important that you focus on the basics rather than focusing out of the box and trying to do all sort of things. It’s important to focus on little things and that can add up to big things,” Sharma told Star Sports at the toss.

Much like Sharma, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant also wanted to bat first but didn’t want to put too much weight behind the toss.

Spiderman 🤝🏼 Hitman 🔥

Let’s do this 💙#YehHaiNayiDilli #DCvMI #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/0SCYZJFr4q

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 20, 2021

“We talked about that we are not gonna think too much about the toss. Yes we would have liked to bat first obviously but at the end of the day, the team which plays good cricket will win the match,” Pant told Star Sports at the toss.

Why are Mumbai Indians playing with only three overseas players vs Delhi Capitals?

Talking about the changes made for this match, defending champions Indians have made a lone change to their Playing XI by including spinner Jayant Yadav for pacer Adam Milne.

The development means that MI will be taking the field with only three overseas players – similar to what Royal Challengers Bangalore did against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday. In his only IPL 2021 outing against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, Milne had leaked 33 runs in his three overs at the same venue.

“We have made one change because of the conditions. We have got one spinner instead of a spinner. Adam Milne misses out, we have got Jayant Yadav. Dew plays a factor for sure towards the the back end. The conditions look very similar to what it has been over the last few games that has been played here,” Sharma said with respect to including an Indian spinner for an overseas fast bowler.

Yadav, who made his IPL debut for Delhi in 2015, had first played for Mumbai in 2019. In four T20s for MI, Yadav’s four wickets have come at an average of 46.50, an economy rate of 6.64 and a strike rate of 42.

As far as Delhi are concerned, Pant revealed that they have included batsman Shimron Hetmyer and veteran spinner Amit Mishra for all-rounder Chris Woakes and pacer Lukman Meriwala.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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