"They wanted Smriti Mandhana" - Abhinav Mukund on Mumbai Indians' squad after WPL Auction 2023
Abhinav Mukund believes the Mumbai Indians (MI) were forced to change their Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 auction strategy after the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) outbid them to acquire Smriti Mandhana.
The Mumbai-based franchise acquired 17 players, including six overseas professionals, at the auction in Mumbai on Monday, February 13. They utilized the entire available budget of ₹12 crore in assembling their squad.
During a discussion on Sports 18, Mukund was asked whether it would be safe to say that the Mumbai Indians didn't have the best auction. He replied in the negative, explaining:
"I wouldn't think so. I think they went a different route because they pivoted after they didn't get Smriti Mandhana. They wanted Smriti Mandhana and then they realized they have to go with a really strong middle order."
We were in a bidding war with RCB but Smriti goes to RCB for 340L.
The former Indian opener feels MI have assembled a formidable middle order, elaborating:
"They literally finished No. 3, 4 and 5 in the batting order with their first three picks. They are certain starters - Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amelia Kerr. They added an all-rounder to the mix in Pooja Vastrakar and then Yastika Bhatia came in - just filled up the top order as a left-handed option."
Harmanpreet Kaur (₹1.8 crore), Natalie Sciver-Brunt (₹3.2 crore) and Amelia Kerr (₹1 crore) were the Mumbai Indians' first three picks at the auction. Seam-bowling all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar and wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia were then acquired for a total sum of ₹3.4 crore.
"I am a bit worried about their bowling" - Abhinav Mukund on the Mumbai Indians
However, Mukund is slightly concerned about MI's bowling department, reasoning:
"I am a bit worried about their bowling, to be honest. Their bowling seems heavily dependent on the Indian contingent and Pooja Vastrakar. That's where I feel they lose out on a little bit but they have got a power-hitting middle order."
The cricketer-turned-analyst opined that batting is likely to be MI's area of strength, observing:
"Chloe Tryon, Hayley Matthews, they added a few players in the end like Amanjot Kaur, Dhara Gujjar - I would think that their batting is their strong suit at this point. We forgot Heather Graham as well. Their batting is absolutely gun."
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Mukund concluded by giving a 7.5 out of 10 rating to the Mumbai Indians squad. He reasoned that while he loves their batting, there are a few gaps in the bowling department.