It won’t be an understatement to mention that the record IPL champions Mumbai Indians’ moves in the 2022 mega auction was closely followed by almost every cricket fan. They had a purse of INR 48 crore going into the auction and Mumbai Indians had decided to retain captain Rohit Sharma, vice-captain Kieron Pollard, batter Suryakumar Yadav and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah ahead of it.
While Mumbai Indians are synonymous with being smart buyers at the IPL auction, their strategy this time around did baffle plenty of people. The franchise led by Nita and Akash Ambani had a relatively quiet first day besides the glamorous bid to ensure the return of wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan. The five-time IPL champions spent a whopping INR 15.25 crore to bring back Kishan into the fold.
However, Mumbai Indians waited extremely long to fill up other departments and their auction strategy left everyone flummoxed. They successfully landed the signature of Jofra Archer for INR 8 crore. While the pace duo of Archer and Bumrah does sound tasty, Archer is unlikely to be available this season. It also remains to be seen how quickly he can get back to his best following a nasty spell on the sidelines because of injury.
Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg was left surprised by Mumbai Indians’ tactics at the auction. “Spending 8Cr on Archer is a huge risk, especially after spending 15 crore on Ishan Kishan. He’s had two elbow surgeries in the last 18 months, that’s the worst injury a fast bowler could have,” said Hogg on his YouTube channel.
“They have a formidable top order in Rohit, Kishan and Surya and then David at No.4, which is also a risk. Who’s going to bat at No.5 is the big question. The bowling department is where their headache starts. They don’t have depth in their bowling and not many top class spinners. They also don’t have finishers like the Pandya brothers. This is one of the worst auctions MI has ever had,” he further added.
IPL 2022 is expected to kick off in the final week of March. The new season promises to be exciting with two new franchises – Lucknow Supergiants and Gujarat Titans – involved in the mix. While Mumbai Indians would like to present a strong account of themselves in IPL 2022, it remains to be seen whether they have the firepower to go the distance.
