Mumbai Indians are the most successful team in the history of IPL. They have won the league more times than any other team. But in the previous season, the five-time champions had one of their worst campaigns ever, one that they would never want to repeat.
In the IPL 2022, they came in last place on the table. They have already lost two players this season, one of whom is their star bowler Jasprit Bumrah. And the other is their biggest buy of the season in the auction, Jhye Richardson.
The Mumbai Indians’ team has always had a perfect balance of batting and bowling, but this season is different. From looking at the squad, we can conclude that the team is too much of a batting powerhouse but at the expense of the bowling department.
During the Glory days of the team, they used to have the advantage of having multiple all-rounders like Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, and Krunal Pandya which is absent in the squad now. In critical situations, the MI all-rounders won many games on their own. Krunal Pandya played a crucial part in winning MI the 2017 IPL title.
Mumbai Indians lost the depth they had with their all-rounders
The IPL mega auction 2022 has been a huge setback for MI as they lost some of their key players. Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya were released by Mumbai Indians in the auction which didn’t turn out to be a smart move.
Gujrat Titans picked Hardik Pandya as their skipper after MI released him. The all-rounder showed his class and finished the season with 4th most runs and helped his team win the title.
At the same time, Keiron Pollard announced his retirement from IPL as well. To find his substitution in the IPL 2023 Player draft, Mumbai went for the Australian all-rounder Cameron Green.
Since he played that innings in the first T20 International against India in Hyderabad, Green has been a popular pick. In the IPL 2023 auction, Mi paid a hefty sum for him. Green was the second-most expensive player in the auction, costing Mumbai Indians 17.5 crores.
MI have struck a major blow as they will the services of their death bowling specialist and New ball bowler both. Jasprit Bumrah and Jhye Richardson are very likely to be replaced by Arshad Khan and Jason Behrendorff.
Arshad has been sensational in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy in recent years. Considering he has been part of the MI net bowlers for the last couple of years makes him more likely to replace Bumrah in the team.
Losing Bumrah would be the worst thing Mumbai wanted now. This is the first time Bumrah is set to miss the entire season. He has played all season since his debut in 2013.
