The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is slated to commence on March 22, with the initial phase featuring 21 matches. However, the complete schedule awaits the announcement of the dates for India’s general elections. The tournament opener will see reigning champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai.

Leading up to the start of IPL 2024, analysts and retired cricketers have started sharing their forecasts and insights. Recently, AB de Villiers, the former South African captain and a renowned figure in the IPL, shared his thoughts on the player he eagerly anticipates watching in the upcoming season.

AB de Villiers picks his choice

De Villiers, who boasts an impressive IPL career with 184 matches and over 5000 runs, expressed his excitement about watching Mumbai Indians’ (MI) star pacer Jasprit Bumrah in action.

“Boom Boom Bumrah. I am looking forward to watching him play again,” said De Villiers on his YouTube channel.

Notably, Bumrah missed IPL 2023 due to injury, but his exceptional performances for India in the Test series against England have reignited anticipation for his IPL comeback. De Villiers highlighted Bumrah’s return as a significant boost for Mumbai Indians and emphasized the pacer’s pivotal role in MI’s success over the years.

“We missed him in the IPL. He is back in full flight. We watched him perform for India in the Test series (vs England). He was simply outstanding. When the heat is on, you want Jasprit Bumrah in your team. He comes through for you 9 out of 10 times. He gets the big wicket of the opposition. And the big reason why Mumbai Indians have been successful over the years and they want to play better than last year,” he added.

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Expectations from a champion team

De Villiers also shared his expectations for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024, highlighting the need for key players to find their form. He emphasized the importance of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and young talents like Dewald Brevis and Tilak Varma in bolstering Mumbai’s batting lineup.

“MI have a big point to prove. They have incredibly talented players. We need SKY in form again. We have Dewald Brevis. I hope he gets more game time as well. There is a lot of talent on the side. They just need to find rhythm, especially in the batting order. We need Rohit Sharma in form. Ishan Kishan up the order with SKY and Tilak Varma. Then they have Tim David and Dewald Brevis. That’s a very powerful batting line up, if they are in form which they haven’t been. so, let’s wait and see. I expect them to do well,” De Villiers added further.

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