3 players from MI Cape Town who Mumbai Indians could target at the IPL 2023 Auction
A lot of eyes will be on the Mumbai Indians (MI) on December 23, when the IPL 2023 Auction takes place in Kochi. While the most successful franchise in the league's history finished at the bottom of the table in the previous edition, they have an enviable core of players to work around ahead of the new season.
In the meantime, they've also picked up a sister franchise at the inaugural SA20, named MI Cape Town. With a host of superstar names headlining it, the team is already one of the hot favorites for the tournament that is set to commence in January 2023.
Quite a few of their players could also be on the radar of their IPL equivalent, with the clock ticking towards the auction. With a fair number of chinks to plug, Mumbai will have their task cut out ahead of December 23.
Let's look at three such players from the Cape Town franchise that Mumbai Indians could target at the IPL 2023 Auction.
#1 Sam Curran
Pretty obvious, isn't it? The Player of the Tournament at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, Sam Curran is expected to fetch a lot of bids at the IPL 2023 Auction. Mumbai Indians need an all-rounder and potentially another death-overs bowler, considering that Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer will be returning from injury.
The Rohit Sharma-led franchise will enter the IPL 2023 Auction with a purse of ₹20.55 crore. Given that the demand for Curran is expected to skyrocket, they will have to keep a good chunk of their purse exclusively for him if they are keen to rope him in.
Whether that happens or not is a different matter altogether. But it is hard to imagine Mumbai not having the talented seam-bowling all-rounder on their radar on December 23.
#2 Duan Jansen
Mumbai have always stayed two steps ahead of their counterparts as far as identifying untapped potential is concerned. This was reflected in their signing of Marco Jansen prior to the 2021 IPL season. They clearly knew what they were doing and today, the lanky left-arm seaming all-rounder is a mainstay in both Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the South African team.
Marco's twin brother Duan is another in the assembly line of talented seamers to come out of South Africa. Not only does he bowl with a similar action, but like his twin, he is very tall and can extract bounce. Oh, there's also the quintessential left-arm angle as well, which the Mumbai franchise has always fancied over the years.
MI Cape Town snapped him up at the SA20 Auction. With Marco now with SRH, expect the owners to try and incorporate his brother into their setup at the IPL 2023 Auction.
#3 Odean Smith
Odean Smith fetched a bumper deal with the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the previous mega auction. However, his inconsistencies, coupled with a lack of control with the ball, saw him released into the IPL 2023 Auction pool.
The burly West Indian all-rounder was signed by MI Cape Town at the SA20 Auction in September. He is by no means a finished product and his returns tend to vary between the outstanding and the ordinary. Yet, given his ability to clear any boundary rope at will and clock high speeds with the ball, there are a lot of workable elements he brings.
Mumbai could look to plug their seam bowling all-rounder hole with Smith should he come at a decent price at the IPL 2023 Auction. As if the side doesn't boast enough six-hitters already, his addition will only bolster those stocks even further.
Who among these players should Mumbai Indians sign at the IPL 2023 Auction? Let us know in the comments section below!
Also read: 3 players from Joburg Super Kings who CSK could target at the IPL 2023 Auction