IPL 2020 Auction: 3 areas of concern for MI and who they should target
One of the most consistent teams in the history of the Indian Premier League, four-time champions Mumbai Indians will be heading into the IPL 2020 auctions on December 19th without any major headaches, having retained quite a strong squad bolstered by the addition of New Zealand seamer Trent Boult through the trade window.
MI's policy of backing young Indian talent to come good has worked wonders for the Rohit Sharma-led side as they already wear a formidable look ahead of the auctions, with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya apart from the skipper himself forming the core of the defending champions' unit for IPL 2020.
Apart from Boult, MI also drafted in West Indian all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford and veteran pacer Dhawal Kulkarni during the trade window, while Yuvraj Singh and the big-hitting southpaw Evin Lewis were some of the notable players featuring in the list of the offloaded players.
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While MI seem to boast of one of the best sides on paper going into the auction, they still have 7 slots to fill and will look to exhaust their remaining purse of ₹13.05 Cr to seal a few gaps in their roster.
On that note, here are three areas MI will look to target, and the possible players they may look to sign from the IPL 2020 auction.
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#3 Specialist foreign batsman
With MI having released Lewis, Quinton de Kock is the lone foreign batsman in the squad ahead of the auction, with the duo of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav partnering the southpaw and Rohit Sharma to form the crux of the batting order.
Given that MI do not have a specialist batsman to depend on and their next best batsman is Krunal Pandya, they will want to sign a seasoned batsman to slot into the middle order, or even someone who can partner de Kock at the top such that Kishan comes in at No.4 and Yadav comes in at No.5.
A lot of talks have enveloped the prospect of exciting top-order batsman Tom Banton landing a big contract from the auctions, and with the youngster keen on "a dream stint" at MI, it remains to be seen if the franchise opts for Banton's services to partner de Kock.
The likes of Eoin Morgan and David Miller could be the front-runners to pocket a contract from MI if the management is keen on landing a middle-order batsman, while Chris Lynn could be a powerful addition at the top of the order.
Yet, MI's best bet could be to sign Glenn Maxwell, who is a proven customer with his pyrotechnics, and his ability to float around in the batting order could be the 'X-factor' for the defending champions.