IPL 2021 Auction: Decoding focus areas of Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians scripted history in 2020 by winning their fifth Indian Premier League title. They outplayed every other franchise, and ruled the roost throughout the tournament. The most successful IPL franchise would want to maintain their dominance in the upcoming season too. It will be interesting to see how they operate at the auction table on February 18. We decode their auction strategy.
Mumbai Indians had released marquee foreign pacers
Ahead of the auction, the MI had released their entire foreign pace battery besides speedster Trent Boult. The list comprises Mitchell McCleneghan, James Pattinson, Lasith Malinga (unavailable), Nathan Coulter-Nile and Sherfane Rutherford. Meanwhile, they have retained three marquee foreign players, Kieron Pollard, Quinton de Kock and Chris Lynn. Notably, the Mumbai-based franchise have retained most of their Indian contingent.
A look at the players released and retained by MI
Released: Mitchell McCleneghan, James Pattinson, Lasith Malinga, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sherfane Rutherford, Digvijay Deshmukh, Prince Balwant Rai Singh Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Lynn, Mohsin Khan, Saurabh Tiwary, Trent Boult
Remaining purse of MI: Rs. 15.35 crore
The MI released a total of seven players, including five foreigners and two Indians. They now have seven slots to fill in with a maximum of four overseas players. Meanwhile, they have a remaining purse of Rs. 15.35 crore.
MI will look to add foreign pacers
By looking at MI's incumbent squad, it is evident they will eye foreign fast bowlers. With no Malinga and Pattinson, they are left with Bumrah and Boult as the established front-line pacers. The fitness of all-rounder Hardik Pandya in terms of bowling has been in doubt lately due to injury issues. Besides, the roster requires some quality spinners too.
