But do they have the money to pursue big names like Curran or Stokes?

Vishal Dikshit19-Dec-20226:10

How can Mumbai make up for last year’s auction?

Who they’ve got
After releasing as many as 13 players last month, Mumbai would be eager to put together an all-round squad after not making the playoffs in the last two seasons. They have good options in top-order batters and finishers, but need to pick up a few players to round off their bowling attack, in both the spin and pace departments.

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Current squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, Akash MadhwalWhat they have to play with
Mumbai can spend up to INR 20.55 crore (USD 2.4 million approx.) for a total of nine slots remaining in the squad, of which at most three can be overseas.What they need

• The biggest name Mumbai are going to be without this time is Kieron Pollard, and they also let go of a few fast bowlers and a couple of back-up spinners ahead of the auction. More than anything, they need a back-up quick for the injury-prone Jofra Archer and a fast-bowling allrounder.
• As Jasprit Bumrah bowls primarily at the death in the IPL, they may want to bring in another Indian quick in their line-up for the powerplay, a role Trent Boult played very well in 2020. They also haven’t had a big-name Indian spinner in their attack in recent years and could do with one, along with picking a second wicketkeeping option as back-up for Ishan Kishan.
  The likely targets
  For the fast-bowling allrounder’s slot, Mumbai could bag one of the big names like Ben Stokes, Cameron Green or Sam Curran to make up for Pollard’s absence.Adam Zampa, Tabraiz Shamsi and Adil Rashid are three high-profile spinners in the auction pool, although picking an overseas spinner becomes tricky for the team combination. The star Indian spinners have all been retained by the teams, which slims down Mumbai’s options to Mayank Markande, M Ashwin (they released both recently), Shreyas Gopal and Amit Mishra.Riley Meredith is another name they let go of before this auction but may want to reconsider as a back-up for Archer. Dushmantha Chameera’s pace could also be a useful option, especially on the bouncy Wankhede pitches.One option for the back-up wicketkeeper’s slot is N Jagadeesan, who hit five straight one-day centuries recently, including a 277. Mohammed Azharuddeen is another T20 name, having smashed a 37-ball century against the domestic Mumbai side in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the 2020-21 season.Among the India quicks, Mumbai could look at Shivam Mavi for pace or the 23-year-old Vidwath Kaverappa, who bagged 18 wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.