IPL 2022 Auction: Predicting Mumbai Indians squad ahead of the marquee tournament
Mumbai Indians (MI) are one of the most successful franchises in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They have retained four players in their side ahead of the 2022 season - Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard and Suryakumar Yadav.
MI have ₹48 in their purse ahead of the 2022 Mega Auction. Given the players they have retained, Mumbai will focus on building their bowling roster and middle-order batters primarily at the auction next week.
MI were one of the few teams who possessed a dangerous squad but had to release most of their players owing to the Mega Auction. Ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction set to take place in Bangalore on February 12 and 13, we take a shot at predicting the squad for the new season.
Predicting the Mumbai Indians squad ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction
Let us start with the openers. Rohit Sharma is a constant but he will need a partner. MI will have some big names to choose from. We take a look at some of the key players Mumbai could engage in a paddle battle for.
It's safe to say that MI will look to have at least one player from the first four names mentioned above to partner Sharma at the top. While de Kock is familiar with MI's approach, the remaining players have had a consistent and successful 2021. They are dependable choices in case the Hitman falls early.
Suryakumar Yadav is a lock to play at No.3, which would mean looking for a suitable top order batter followed by a string of all-rounders.
Ideally, Rana (who has played for Mumbai before) and Markram stand a chance of being picked as they both play No.4 for their previous franchises. They are capable of playing long innings while also setting the platform for Pollard to tee off.
Bharat was a breakout star for RCB and his gloveman skills will be double value and could be bagged as a steal for MI.
Mumbai usually favor playing all-rounders in the middle order. So while they may make a beeline for Krunal Pandya, there are also some other promising names on that list.
Moving on to the spin options, Rahul Chahar might stand a chance to don the blue and gold again. But with former MI and RCB star Yuzvendra Chahal in the IPL 2022 Auction pool, expect Mumbai to bid heavily for the tweaker.
Although Ravichandran Ashwin is on the marquee set, it should be noted that Mumbai has built a reputation of blooding young talent. The policy wouldn't change much, making Ashwin a less likely option.
Mumbai have boasted of a formidable pace attack in the past, and we take a look at key pace options they can acquire. Bagging promising young guns like Chetan Sakariya and Avesh Khan shouldn't come as a surprise either.
Natarajan will surely see some interest from the side during the IPL 2022 Auction, mainly due to his ability to land yorkers at will.
With these options, here's our ideal XI for MI in IPL 2022:
Rohit Sharma, Devdutt Padikkal, Suryakumar Yadav, Liam Livingstone, Kieron Pollard, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Marsh, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, Krishnappa Gowtham, Yuzendra Chahal.