"You will feel one player is missing when you try to make their playing XI" - Irfan Pathan on the Mumbai Indians

Irfan Pathan feels the Mumbai Indians (MI) will have a crucial cog missing if they try to make their best XI from the squad they have assembled.

The Mumbai-based franchise bought eight players at the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23. They had an available purse of ₹20.55 crore heading into the auction and spent the majority of the amount on acquiring the services of Cameron Green for ₹17.5 crore.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was asked how he would rate the Mumbai Indians' auction performance on a scale of five, to which he responded:

"Definitely between three-and-a-half to four. Cameron Green was an extremely good buy. I am giving one point less because you will feel one player is missing when you try to make their playing XI."

The former Indian all-rounder feels the five-time champions do not have a player who can wield the willow effectively at No. 7, explaining:

"You can also get Cameron Green to open and then Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav - these four are confirmed. Tilak Varma will come at No. 5, Tim David will come at No. 6 but who will be the seventh player? Which other guy will bat here? It seems they missed out slightly there."

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Presenting to you, our newest all-rounder ➡️ Cameron Green😎

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Mumbai Indians might look to play Ramandeep Singh at No. 7. Arjun Tendulkar gives them another domestic all-round option, but he has not been tested at this level.

"Your bowling is sorted" - Irfan Pathan on the Mumbai Indians' attack

The Mumbai Indians will hope that Jasprit Bumrah is fully fit for IPL 2023. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Pathan added that Rohit Sharma's side has a well-rounded bowling attack, elaborating:

"Other than that, your bowling is sorted. You got Piyush Chawla as a spinner. You have Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah, if they remain fit then it's the best, or else you have the option of both Behrendoff and Jhye Richardson."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by observing that the impact player rule could work to MI's advantage, saying:

"Mumbai Indians' problem might get sorted out because of the impact player that is going to come. There you can play an extra bowler at No. 7, or a batter if you have to bowl second. So the overall team is good but I gave the rating based on the best playing XI."

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The impact player rule allows the franchises to replace a player during the game with one of the pre-defined substitutes. However, the impact player can only be an Indian unless a team starts the game with fewer than the four allowed overseas players.