The final lists of retained players were released by all 8 existing franchises on November 30 ahead of the upcoming IPL 2022 mega auctions. Fans were waiting for it for a long time. It has created many confusions and excitement among the fans because there were many big names missing from the retention lists of teams. Therefore, the upcoming IPL 2022 Mega Auction is going to be very important for all the ten teams. Team management will try to build their respective squads from scratch. Each franchise will look forward to acquire players as per their requirements and long term vision. There was a limit on the number of retentions for each team. And many teams have not even utilized their four retentions so that they can have a higher purse amount for the mega auction. Some teams will target young talent whereas some teams will look for a new captain. In this article we will talk about Mumbai Indians and its approach towards the mega auction. It will be interesting to see who they will target now as they have been forced to release most of their key players. Let’s see IPL 2022 Mega Auction : MI five target players.
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Ladies & gentlemen, the retained ones! ??#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPLretention @ImRo45 @Jaspritbumrah93 @KieronPollard55 @surya_14kumar pic.twitter.com/MEuapRJ9O6
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) November 30, 2021
Despite being the defending champions Mumbai Indians could not even qualify in2021 season of IPL ending up 5th on the points table. They were able to secure only 7 wins in 14 matches. However, the situation will be changed completely for the next season. The teams were given the option of retaining a maximum of four players. Mumbai Indians decided to retain four players which included captain Rohit Sharma (16 crore), lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah (12 crore), middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav (8 crore) and all-rounder Kieron Pollard (6 crore). Indians have a stable squad for a quite long time and had to release big names for this auction. Among the big names they released were Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Trent Boult, Krunal Pandya and Quinton de Kock. Heading into the IPL 2022 mega auction, they have a purse of Rs 48 crore remaining since they spent Rs 42 crore in retaining four players.
Let’s have a look at five players that MI can target in the upcoming IPL 2022 mega auctions.
Sam Curran
Having released Hardik Pandya, whose form has tapered off recently and who is unsure of his bowling due to injury concerns, MI would be looking at another quality all-rounder in their line-up, which leads them to target England all-rounder Sam Curran, who was also released by Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Curran missed most of the UAE leg of IPL 2021 due to injury. Before that, he claimed nine wickets in as many games and also scored some quick runs. The advantage with Curran is that he can open both the batting and the bowling, which is a rare quality in a cricketer. Curran might be expensive, but MI could be keen on getting him in place of Pandya, considering the package that he offers. He comes at the top in the list of IPL 2022 MI target players.
Ishan Kishan
The second notable name that isn’t present in Mumbai’s retention list is wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan. But they can still get him in the upcoming auction. The Jharkhand cricketer has been sensational all this while whenever he was given chances upfront. Though he didn’t perform up to his standards in most of the IPL 2021, he was given chance to open in a few innings and the southpaw didn’t waste them at all, his 32-ball 84 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) which helped MI to a mammoth 235 in their last league game of the season being the biggest example. Kishan remains the sole Indian player to score a half-century on both T20I and ODI debuts. He has been a part of the Indian limited-overs setup in recent times. MI and India’s T20 skipper Rohit Sharma has recently stated the intention to use Ishan Kishan at the opening slot. Rohit Sharma is not getting any younger. Hence, MI would certainly want to use the next three-year cycle to groom a successor for the IPL’s most successful captain. Ishan Kishan could well be an option to that end at the age of 23. His past performance is enough to get his name in the list of IPL 2022 MI target players.
Rahul Chahar
Rahul Chahar may not have had a great run in the second half of IPL 2021. Still, over the last couple of seasons, MI groomed Chahar, and he turned into a more than decent spinner for them, even making his India debut. Rahul Chahar played a pivotal role in MI’s title run and was also picked for Team India at the 2021 T20 World Cup as a result of his impressive outing with the ball. Chahar gives the ball a real rip and is among the better spin options likely to be part of the auctions. There is a good chance MI might look to buy him back. He is definitely a candidate in IPL 2022 mega auction MI target players.
Ben Stokes
After letting go of quality all-rounders like Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Jimmy Neesham, the franchise is in real need of someone to fill this position. Despite having Pollard in the side, Rohit Sharma and Co would surely go behind someone like Ben Stokes for IPL 2022.Englishman is one of the finest all-rounders in the history of the game, who has done well across formats and been consistent with the bat and can bowl death overs. A batting strike rate of 136.84 in T20Is shows that he can bat in any place in the lineup. He has picked 19 wickets in 34 games with an economy of 87.78 that shows that even though he might be a bit expensive he will turn out to be a vital buy at any franchise he goes to in the 15th edition of the competition. He is definitely in the list of MI target players 2022.
Shardul Thakur
CSK released Thakur and retained captain MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Given what he brings to the table, the Mumbai franchise might be interested to have him by trying to purchase him at the mega auction. The 30-year-old bowling all-rounder is at the peak of his powers. During the tour in England, he showed what he could do with bat and ball under adverse circumstances. When he returned to the UAE for IPL 2021, he was one of CSK’s star performers, claiming massive scalps game after game, including the final. He ended up as one of the top wicket-takers in IPL 2021.Thakur’s variations with the ball come in handy in T20 cricket. Add to that, he will add depth to the batting unit. Having let go of Hardik Pandya Indians would be looking for an all rounder and Shradul Thakur fits well. He can be a MI target in 2022 mega auction.
