Having won their fifth and second consecutive IPL Trophy, Mumbai Indians would already be dreaming of a hattrick. However, if a mega-auction takes place in 2021, they would be in a spot of bother.
Mumbai Indians cannot retain all the players in the current set-up and that could have implications on the successful combination. Then, the squad will have to focus on making the right retainments and wise strategies to get back their players at the auction.
In this article, we take a look at five players whom Mumbai must target to retain if there is a mega-auction in 2021.
1. Rohit Sharma
The captain of the franchise and the most prolific trophy winner in the entire competition, Rohit Sharma would be sure-shot retention. Although he had to face rustiness on coming back to the game after a long break, Rohit was still looking in the groove. He did miss out on a few games due to an injury, but in the final, we saw the masterclass player that he is. While that’s about his batting, Rohit’s captaincy is also equally important for MI. For these two reasons, MI would stick to their main asset.
2. Jasprit Bumrah
In 2018, Mumbai Indians retained Jasprit Bumrah in the third place. However, this time, we feel that Bumrah deserves the silver medal. For the last three seasons, the pacer has been in red-hot form and has been one of the main reasons for the team’s success. Having a premier Indian pacer in your ranks can help the team-balance heavily, and with Bumrah, MI have enjoyed this advantage. In the coming years too, both for India and Mumbai, Bumrah would constitute a major role in the squads. Hence, it is a no-brainer that Mumbai would retain the Gujarat cricketer.
3. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya was not his 100% in IPL 2020. He did not bowl in this campaign and was also mostly fielding at unimportant spots on the field. If both these attributes add to his blockbuster batting next season, Mumbai could be in for a sixth cup. Hardik is India’s best pace-bowling all-rounder across formats. Injuries have been a problem, but he is working on it in recent months. Despite being fertile in IPL, Hardik is still in his mid-twenties. To see that way, he is yet to hit his peak as a cricketer. Hence, Mumbai can easily go for Hardik as the third option before IPL 2021.
4. Quinton de Kock
Now, Mumbai Indians would be confused as to which overseas star they must retain. While Lasith Malinga is out of the question, the other three possibilities are Pollard, QDK, and Boult. The Kiwi pacer is unlikely considering Bumrah would anyways be retained as the lead pacer. In the toss-up between KP and QDK, although they might incline toward the West Indian, MI must take a wise decision of retaining the South African. Quinton has been in fine form in the last two seasons, and his good work at the top has helped the other guys in the batting order. Pollard can be inconsistent and is also aging. Hence, QDK must be the better pick for MI.
5. Suryakumar Yadav
MI has two quality uncapped cricketers in SKY and Ishan Kishan. If they retain one of these two, SKY could offer a better proposal. A local guy, Surya is more experienced than Ishan in IPL. This season was Ishan’s best campaign, but the Mumbai lad has had a couple of them over the years. Moreover, SKY is closer to the Indian Team than Kishan, and hence, before he makes his India debut, Mumbai would want to retain him in the uncapped quota. Therefore, Surya seems a better option for Mumbai at the moment.
