"No one thought the Mumbai Indians will be able to pick Cameron Green" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra feels the Mumbai Indians (MI) surprised most cricket experts by spending a bounty to acquire Cameron Green at the IPL 2023 auction.
MI had an available purse of ₹20.55 crore heading into the mini-auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23. They spent a whopping ₹17.5 crore to acquire Green's services and bought seven more players for a total sum of ₹3 crore.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that the Mumbai Indians breaking the bank for Green might have stunned everyone, saying:
"No one thought the Mumbai Indians will be able to pick Cameron Green. Will they spend so much money because they didn't have much? But they did that. They bought him at 17.5 crores. Wow, that's quite a bid."
The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player highlighted that the five-time champions needed an all-rounder, explaining:
"What does Cameron Green bring to this team? This team was missing an all-rounder. If you see the Mumbai Indians' history, they have a love for all-rounders. There was a time when they were a champion team, they had Hardik (Pandya), Krunal (Pandya) and (Kieron) Pollard - where do you have three such quality all-rounders?"
MI opted not to retain Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. They decided to part ways with Kieron Pollard as a player ahead of this year's auction, although the West Indian all-rounder will be a part of their camp as a batting coach.
"It will suit Cameron Green's bowling as well as batting" - Aakash Chopra on Mumbai Indians' home ground
Chopra reckons Green should flourish as an all-rounder at the Wankhede Stadium, reasoning:
"They play at the Wankhede ground, where there is pace and bounce, it will suit Cameron Green's bowling as well as batting. You will have to send Cameron Green up the order to get the best out of him."
However, the reputed commentator feels that the Australian all-rounder's inclusion might force some of the Mumbai Indians players to bat out of position, explaining:
"You have Ishan Kishan with Rohit, and then you keep either Suryakumar Yadav or Tilak Varma at No. 3. If you put Cameron Green at No. 3, Surya can play at No. 4, but what about Tilak Varma? That's a question they will have to answer, whether Tilak Varma can bat well below No. 4."
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Rohit Sharma and Co. could alternatively use Green as a finisher alongside Tim David. The big-hitting all-rounder is accustomed to batting in the middle order in domestic cricket, although he has played a few destructive knocks for Australia at the top of the order in T20Is.