IPL 2019: Five Players Mumbai Indians Should Target at Auctions

IPL 2019: Five players Mumbai Indians should target at auctions; The preparations of the twelfth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) had already begun. However, the BCCI had informed all the eight franchise to submit their final list of released and retained players’ list by November 15. In this article, we will take a look at five players Mumbai Indians should target at auctions.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indian (MI) had retained 18 players and had released ten of them from their squad. India batting veteran, Rohit Sharma will lead the side. Moreover, apart from Sharma, MI have also retained Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande, Aditya Tare, Ishan Kisan, Rahul Chahar, Anukul Roy, and Suryakumar Yadav.

However, from the overseas players, Mumbai Indians have retained Windies star Kieron Pollard and Evin Lewis. They also kept Australian duo of Ben Cutting and Jason Behrendorff along with New Zealand’s Mitchell McClenaghan and Adam Milne.

Mukesh Ambani-owned franchise has released a total of ten players which include South Africa’s Jean-Paul Duminy, Australian fast-bowler Pat Cummins, Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman, and Sri Lankan spinner Akila Dananjaya. Other players that got released are Saurabh Tiwary, Pradeep Sangwan, Sharad Lumba, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, Mohsin Khan, and MD Nidheesh.

Since Mumbai Indians had made the changes, their bowling department had affected a lot.

Now, here we will take a look at five players that Mumbai Indians might target at auction.

Jaydev Unadkat

Jaydev Unadkat is one of the cricketers who made history in the last year’s auction. He became the highest paid Indian bowler as Rajasthan Royals bagged his services for a whopping 11.5 crore. However, he failed to perform in the last edition of the tournament but played brilliantly in 2017 for the Rising Pune Supergiants.

Moreover, he emerged as one of the leading wicket-takers and had helped Pune to make into the finals. However, with his experience, Unadkat can play a pivotal role for Mumbai Indians. MI lacks depth in their bowling options and had also released Bangladesh’s star, Mustafizur Rahman.

Mohammad Shami

The Mumbai Indians seems to have a dull pace attack. They have only Jasprit Bumrah as a recognised Indian fast bowler. However, Virat Kohli stated he wants his paceman to get rest ahead of the 2019 World Cup. However, it is highly likely that Bumrah will get some rest during the 2019 IPL.

Meanwhile, Mumbai can fill the gap of pace bowling department with the likes of Mohammad Shami at the auction. He got released by Delhi Daredevils after a poor show in the 2018 edition of the IPL.

However, Shami has a lot of experience under his back and has played a match-winning performance on many occasions. The fact that Shami is a wicket-taking bowler makes him a hot property at the auctions.

Chris Woakes

Mumbai Indians have great depth in the all-rounder’s list. They have Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, and Ben Cutting. Meanwhile, the former champions might have to give rest to Hardik Pandya in the second half of the tournament, as he will be an integral part of the Indian team for the mega event. Also, Kieron Pollard has lost his mojo and struggles to get going with the bat and Cutting is not having a great time in the limited-overs cricket too.

Ahead of everything, Mumbai Indians might take a look at Chris Woakes. The Englishman is one of the underrated players in the world of cricket.

He can bat down the order and can also swing the ball during the powerplay. He might not be available for the entire tournament but will undoubtedly play as a vital role for the team.

Carlos Brathwaite

Kieron Pollard played as one of the backbones for Mumbai Indians ‘ during the past few years. He played a pivotal role in the during the previous successful campaigns for the blue brigade as well. However, he had lost his hart hitting capabilities and had scored just 133 runs in the last season; the team could rope in another Windies star.

However, there is one who can replace Pollard in the lineup, and that is Carlos Brathwaite. He had played an entertaining knock in the finals of World T20 in 2016, smashing four unforgettable sixes to Ben Stokes.

Meanwhile, Carlos has struggled to make an impact with bat/ball at the international level. If he can put a little bit of effort in the batting against the spinners, Brathwaite can guide Mumbai to their fourth IPL title.

Axar Patel

As compared to other franchises, Mumbai Indians have an inexperienced spin department. However, the pitch will remain dried up during the March-April, and it will be helpful for the spin department.

The three-times title winning franchise will likely be keen to pick up the experienced Axar Patel. The 24-year-old is playing IPL since 2014 and has bagged 74 wickets to his name.

Meanwhile, Axar can able to bat as well down the order he will provide additional support to the team. He is very economical with the ball and has improved his batting in the recent past. The acquisition of Axar at the auctions would make the Mumbai Indians a force to reckon with.