Ranking Mumbai Indians' buys at the IPL 2023 Auction

Mumbai Indians (MI), the five-time champions, had a poor IPL 2022 season as they only recorded four wins and finished rock-bottom in the standings for the first time ever in IPL history.

Despite their lackluster campaign last year, MI unearthed future stars such as Tilak Verma, Dewald Brevis, Kumar Kartikeya, and Tim David.

With their already star-studded batting unit and talented youngsters, the Mumbai-based franchise went into the auction to fill the void created by Keiron Pollard, who retired last month. The franchise also needed some reinforcements in their bowling department.

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Heading into the auction, MI were left with a purse value of ₹22.55 crore. They also had nine slots to fill, out of which the side managed to use up eight.

Here we rank all the acquisitions made by Mumbai Indians at the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23:

#1 Jhye Richardson (₹1.50 crore): 9/10

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Given the frequent injury woes of star pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer, MI went into the auction in need of a backup option. While they already had a left-arm option in Jason Behrendorff, MI attained the services of Australian right-arm pacer Jhye Richardson for just ₹1.5 crore.

The 26-year-old has been in sensational form for his Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Perth Scorchers. In just three BBL games this season, Richardson has picked up eight wickets at an outstanding average of 8.8 and a strike rate of 9.0.

Richardson's ability to swing the ball upfront and nail good yorkers at the death makes him a complete bowler. Acquiring him at just his base price might well turn out to be the best move by MI this time.

#2 Cameron Green (₹17.50 crore): 8.5/10

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Making their most-ever expensive signing on Friday, MI bought Australian prodigy Cameron Green for a whopping ₹17.50 crore. The 23-year-old has been in phenomenal form in the recent past for Australia across formats and is considered one of the hottest properties in world cricket.

Green displayed his striking prowess when he opened for Australia and had a successful T20I series against India in September this year (118 runs at a strike rate of 214.6 in three T20Is).

To utilize Green's maximum potential, MI might need to alter their already packed batting unit and adjust him at the top of the order. Hence, he is not a like-for-like replacement for Pollard.

Moreover, by splashing more than 85 percent of their total budget on a single player, the decision did leave them short of funds in filling other slots.

Regardless, Green is one for the future for Mumbai and it won't be a surprise if he takes on the upcoming IPL season by storm.

#3 Duan Jansen (₹20 lakh): 8.5/10

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One of MI's five buys at ₹20 lakh was Duan Jansen, a tall pace-bowling all-rounder from South Africa.

Duan possesses a similar skillset to his brother Marco Jansen, who has been sensational for his national team this year.

A left-arm seamer who can generate extra bounce due to his height, Duan has a steaming bumper in him and can nail those crucial yorkers as well.

Moreover, the 22-year-old can also use the long handle to smash some lusty blows if required.

#4 Shams Mulani (₹20 lakh): 8.5/10

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Just a day after his 11-wicket haul in a Ranji Trophy game for Mumbai against Hyderabad, MI franchise obtained Shams Mulani for ₹20 lakh at the IPL 2023 auction.

Given his immense contribution to his state team Mumbai, especially over the last couple of years, Mulani was destined to be part of the MI camp.

A left-arm orthodox spinner who can also be more than handy with the bat, Mulani could well be one of the finds of IPL 2023. The 25-year-old was the highest wicket-taker in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy, claiming as many as 45 wickets at an average of 16 across eight matches.

His T20 record gives for great reading as well. At a frugal economy of 6.8, Mulani has picked up 40 wickets in 35 games in his T20 career.

It was a bit surprising to see that no other IPL franchise made attempts to bid for the wily left-arm spinner.

#5 Vishnu Vinod (₹20 lakh): 8/10

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An Indian backup option for Ishan Kishan, the Mumbai Indians bought Vishnu Vinod, a wicketkeeper-batter for his state team Kerala.

An attacking batter by trait, Vinod boasts a strike rate of just under 140 and has scored 1191 runs at an average of above 33 across 46 T20 innings.

Previously, the franchise had Aryan Juyal in their ranks as a backup wicketkeeper choice. However, the Kerala star comes with a lot of experience on the domestic circuit.

#6 Nehal Wadhera (₹20 lakh): 8/10

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Nehal Wadhera came into the limelight after scoring a mammoth 578 runs in 414 balls in the semi-finals of a U-23 tournament in Punjab earlier this year.

An elegant left-handed batting all-rounder from Ludhiana, Punjab, Wadhera is certainly one for the future for MI, having bought him for just ₹20 lakh on Friday.

While he is still an unproven commodity in senior-level cricket, sharing the dressing room alongside some of the greats in MI can do wonders for Wadhera.

#7 Raghav Goyal (₹20 lakh): 7.5/10

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Mumbai's scouting has been hailed as one of the best in the IPL, and they picked up an unknown commodity in Raghav Goyal for ₹20 lakh on Friday.

Hailing from northern India, Haryana, Goyal is a left-arm orthodox spinner who can also bat left-handed.

While he is yet to make a single appearance in List-A, first-class, or T20 cricket, the 21-year-old must have some special talent that MI opted to include him in their 24-man squad.

#8 Piyush Chawla (₹50 lakh): 7.5/10

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Given that MI had no right-arm leg-spinner on their roster going into the IPL 2023 auction, it was certain that they would eye at least one. Eventually, they chose Piyush Chawla and snapped him up at his base price of ₹50 lakh.

While Chawla is one of the IPL's all-time greats, he is well past his prime. Although he still plays both white-ball formats for Gujarat in domestic matches, only time will tell if the experienced leg-break bowler still has some gas left in his tank to perform in the marquee league.

Given their bleak spinning options, it was surprising to see that MI didn't try to buy Shreyas Gopal, who is also five years younger than Chawla.