IPL 2022: 3 MI players who might not be part of the side next year
The Mumbai Indians (MI) are enduring their worst-ever campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Broken up by a mega-auction and struggling with IPL team balance, the five-time champions are placed dead last in the IPL points table 2022 with only two wins in 11 matches.
MI will be boosted by the arrival of Jofra Archer next year. The Englishman, signed for ₹8 crore at the mega-auction, was always going to miss the current season with injury. But whether he can be at his best for Mumbai amid a tightly packed international schedule in 2023 remains to be seen.
Apart from the new arrivals, the MI squad could also see a few departures. Some players have really failed to impress this year and could be sacrificed as the franchise looks towards the future. Here are three MI players who might not be part of the side for IPL 2023.
#3 Ramandeep Singh
Ramandeep Singh is highly rated in domestic cricket as a big-hitter who can roll his arm over. However, his introduction to the IPL has been nothing short of woeful.
In two innings thus far, Ramandeep has managed scores of six off 12 and 12 off 16. The two innings were interrupted by a spell on the sidelines owing to the presence of a much more decorated player in Suryakumar Yadav, but it's clear that the 25-year-old is out of his depth in IPL 2022. He has lacked game awareness not only while at the crease but while fielding as well.
Ramandeep doesn't have a great domestic record for MI to go on. He has a first-class average of 41.33, a List A average of 23.5 and a T20 average of 12.88, with only four wickets, over the course of 27 matches. The all-rounder's strike rates don't make for pretty reading either. He could be on his way out of the MI squad unless he can produce something special for the remainder of IPL 2022.
#2 Tymal Mills
One of the controversies surrounding MI in IPL 2022 has been the status of Tymal Mills. The left-arm pacer has now been ruled out of the tournament with injury, but he expressed in a now-deleted social media post that he was fully fit. Controversy aside, he massively underwhelmed for the franchise while he was a part of it.
Mills managed only six wickets in five matches at an economy rate of 11.18, getting his lines and lengths all wrong at various stages of the innings. He failed to provide MI spearhead Jasprit Bumrah with any support and also couldn't set his IPL record straight after a disappointing IPL 2017 season with the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
MI have signed the talented Tristan Stubbs as a replacement for Mills, who may not have done enough to get a third bite of the IPL cherry.
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#1 Kieron Pollard
Retained ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, Kieron Pollard has been one of MI's worst performers this year. The big West Indian has managed only 144 runs in 11 innings at an average of 14.4 and a strike rate of 107.46, with a highest score of 25. He has looked all at sea against spin and has failed to make up for his dot balls against pace as well.
Pollard appears to be well past his prime, and MI can't justify keeping him in the playing XI for much longer. Young talents like Dewald Brevis and Stubbs need some IPL gametime before they can become regulars, and Pollard is chewing up a valuable overseas spot on reputation alone.
Pollard has served MI well over the years, but he turns 35 in a few days. It might be time for the five-time champions to look past one of their most-capped players.