IPL 2018 Auctions Day 1: Mumbai Indians Squad

Heading into the auction MI had a purse of 47 crores, however, they played the waiting game and bought only a handful of players.

Published - 28 Jan 2018, 00:32 IST | Updated - 28 Jan 2018, 00:32 IST

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Mumbai Indians has been one of the most destructive teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They struggled in the first couple of seasons but stormed back to win three titles under the leadership of Rohit Sharma in the first ten seasons; the Mumbaikar has led the side with a lot of zeal. They also had plenty of big names who contributed consistently for the franchise.

Ahead of the auction in Bangalore, Mumbai retained three of the current India international players in Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. Heading into the auction MI had a purse of 47 crores, however, they played the waiting game and bought only a handful of players. They used the RTM for Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya who were worth 5.4 and 8.8 crores respectively.

Among foreigners, barring Pollard, they bagged Pat Cummins, the Aussie speedster and Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh’s pace-bowling sensation. Wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan batted well for the Gujarat Lions last season and he was grabbed by Mumbai for a whopping 6.2 crores. And added Suryakumar Yadav to the squad who will lend depth to their batting.

They still require nine players to complete their minimum quota of 18 players. 503 more players will go under the hammer on Sunday’s auctions and MI have to be vigilant regarding their choice of the rest of the squad. After the first day, they are left with a purse of 15.8 crores. They can still buy as many as five foreign cricketers. It will be interesting to see their approach on the second day.