"We did a lot of planning for this auction" - Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani
Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani has shed light on their recent buys at the IPL 2021 Auction. He revealed that MI were planning for almost 12 hours a day in the build up to the mini-auction. The defending IPL champions bought seven players at Thursday's auction, with Nathan Coulter-Nile emerging as their most expensive buy at ₹5 crore.
Mumbai Indians, who managed to keep hold of their key players, were unlikely to make too many acquisitions at the IPL 2021 Auction. However, they did make some valuable additions to their roster. Akash Ambani was a satisfied man with the deals MI made and said:
"We did a lot of planning for this auction. We were on video conference 12 hours a day in the last few days in the build-up to the auction. Every auction requires a lot of hard work. This was a special year where we didn't do any trades compared to the last few years, so we had to prepare extra hard for that. We believe we have a complete squad."
Akash Ambani added that the Mumbai Indians were looking to add some experience to their team ahead of the new season.
"We put a squad together, and we thought we need to add experience from last year. I wouldn't want to single out any of the picks. We are really happy with everyone coming into the squad. Coulter-Nile coming back, Adam Milne coming back"' Akash Ambani added.
Mumbai Indians have won three IPL titles in the last four years and will likely be the team to beat once again in 2021. The defending champions are the most successful team in IPL history, with five championships to their name.
"Piyush Chawla can play with Rahul Chahar" - Akash Ambani
Mumbai Indians also bought veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla at the mini-auction. Akash Ambani believes MI can play both Rahul Chahar and Chawla together as they bowl in different phases of the game.
"He (Piyush Chawla) will add a wealth of experience and gives us a lot of options with the ball; and also, he can play with Rahul Chahar as a double-leg spin option because they both bowl in different phases of the game, and he can bat left-handed. Yudhvir and Arjun have been standout performers who were supporting our main squad in UAE, " Ambani said.
MI full squad and player list for IPL 2021
MI players for IPL 2021: Rohit Sharma, Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Mohsin Khan
Players bought at IPL Auction 2021: Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Marco Jansen, Yudhvir Singh, James Neesham, Arjun Tendulkar