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Mumbai Indians, who won eight of their 14 games, took fourth place in the IPL 2023 points standings. They went on to overcome the Gujarat Titans in the second eliminator after falling to the Lucknow Super Giants in the first.
By acquiring Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya beforeย the IPL 2024 auction, MI created a stir. After a fruitful two years in Ahmedabad, the India all-rounder returned to Mumbai. In GT’s maiden IPL season in 2022, Pandya guided the team to victory. He also led them to the IPL 2023 final, where they were defeated by MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings.
๐๐ธ๐๐ ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ก#OneFamily #HardikSwagat @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/L21PjSZi4V
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) November 27, 2023
In order to recover the Rs 17.50 crore they had lost due to Pandya’s departure, MI traded Australia’s Cameron Green, an all-rounder, to Royal Challengers Bangalore. In 16 games during the previous season, Green amassed 452 runs at an average of 50.22 and 160.28 batting. Last season, Green also amassed two fifties and a century.
Romario Shepherd was acquired by MI in an all-cash deal from LSG prior to these trades on the day of the IPL 2024 retention deadline.
The Mumbai Indians may bid on foreign bowlers in the auction in an effort to strengthen their bowling squad. With the trade of Green to RCB, they were able to free up much-needed funds and an overseas berth in their team, and now they have a purse of Rs 17.75 crore.
MI has an abundance of homegrown hitters, led by Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Nehal Wadhera. With Shepherd joining the team, Tim David will take on the job of finisher, and Mumbai won’t have to shell out a lot of money for another foreign hitter.
With his outstanding achievements in the just concluded ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, the South African pacer stunned the entire world. In eight games, the right-arm fast claimed 20 wickets and advanced South Africa to the semifinals.
Naturally, he would be highly sought after in the auction and would end up being a wise addition to MI. The only overseas pacer available, left-armer Jason Behrendroff, makes Coetzee an ideal addition for MI to go along with Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Madhwal.
Josh Hazlewood, who was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore, is another player MI might try to sign. Given his skill with the bat and the ball, Australia’s captain Pat Cummins would possibly be a good option for the five-time winners. Similarly, Mumbai might find that Chris Woakes of England is a less expensive option.
The five-time champion Mumbai Indians will be searching for the last missing piece as they get ready for the Indian Premier League 2024 auction, which takes place on December 19 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
