Mumbai Indians made some very wise calls in the IPL 2016 auction to further consolidate what already looked like a very strong unit. Going into the auction, they were easily the most settled side with 19 players in the roster. Those 19 players helped Mumbai to the championship in the previous edition. Now they have the backing of a few more talented players to make defence of the coveted trophy. Led by local boy Rohit Sharma, MI possess an enviable mix of players across departments that makes for fine balance and scope for title defence looks strong, writes Rishad D’Souza.Live Updates & Blog, IPL 2016 Auction: List of sold & unsold players & teams in Indian Premier League 9 auction
Mumbai Indians are a very strong team on paper and they have only reinforced their strengths with some smart buys in the auction. The management looked determined on certain players and engaged in heavy bidding for those. Among the foreign picks Jos Buttler and Tim Southee were added to the team.
Buttler is enjoying a rich vein of form and has already made a reputation for himself as one of the most vibrant limited-overs players to ever have worn the England shirt. Along with big hitting he also brings a degree of reliability to the middle order which bodes well for the side. His appetite for quick runs at a fast rate will be of great value for the team. He also does a good job with the gloves.
Southee is not at his best at the moment. But at his best he is a fantastic bowler with a wide variety of variations in his armoury. He is a very clever bowler who can deliver at any stage of the game. With his inclusion Mumbai Indians have a good clout of New Zealand cricketers who are in the habit of delivering match-winning performances in each others company. They are sure to gel together.
The management showed great knowledge in their purchases of domestic cricketers. They bid aggressively for fast bowler Nathu Singh who has been creating ripples in the domestic circuit with Rajasthan.
They then strengthened their batting and wicket-keeping reserves by lapping up Jitesh Sharma who has been in fantastic form. They also picked up Services bowler Deepak Punia who is capable of delivering wickets at crucial junctures. Baroda cricketer Krunal Pandya also found favour with the selectors.
One surprising pick by Mumbai Indians was Kishore Kamath who has no domestic experience in India’s top class tournaments. He has only played in the Karnataka Premier League. It will be interesting to see how he performs.
Nevertheless, Mumbai Indians are seeming a solid unit. They have a pre-existing core consisting the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh and Corey Anderson amongst others.
They have a lovely balance across departments. The batting discipline will be headed by none other than skipper Rohit with the backing of guys like Lendl Simmons, Ambati Rayudu and Parthiv Patel. There are also some fine all-rounders in the ranks consisting Pollard, Anderson, Hardik Pandya and Jagadeesha Suchith.
Similarly in the bowling unit they have players like Vinay Kumar, Southee, McClenaghan, Nathu, Shreyas Gopal, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Marchant de Lange. They are very heavy in bowling and all round reserves and there will be healthy internal competition among players to make the cut.
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RDcric on Twitter)
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