The current Indian Premier League Champion Mumbai Indians already have a strong squad and like any successful side look for stability in their team. They have retained 18 players and have most of the bases covered. They will look for a few backups and fill some of the gaps.
Piyush Chawla
Mumbai Indians have a strong pace bowling attack which has become even more threatening post the inclusion of Trent Boult. However, in the spin department, Rahul Chahar is their main weapon who had a good 2019 season but may need some support as he is still lacking inexperience. Piyush Chawla can be an excellent cover for Chahar who can help the youngster with his experience and support. Chawala has played all the previous seasons of IPL and his 150 wickets came from 157 matches playing for Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders. For the latter, he was also part of the 2014 IPL winning squad and hit the winning runs in the Final. It can be a good investment from Mumbai for 1-2 season.
Shimron Hetmyer
Shimron Hetmyer had a brilliant 2018 when he became ICC’s one of the five breakout stars in world cricket. He was the youngest centurion in Caribbean Premier League and as a result of that, he was purchased by Royal Challengers Bangalore for 4.20 crores during the 2019 IPL auction. However, Hetmyer’s performance was disappointing as he could score only 90 runs in five matches; 75 of which came in one innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Hetmyer is released by RCB and quite a few teams may go for the West Indian star’s service. MI can also look to strengthen their middle order and opt for the southpaw as one of their overseas options.
Colin de Grandhomme
In case Mumbai Indians want to add another all-rounder in the squad they go for Colin de Grandhomme who is having a pretty consistent and successful 2019 for the Kiwis. Grandhomme has an experience of 194 T20 matches where he can boast of a strike rate above 160. He has also played three seasons of IPL for KKR and RCB. He can be used as a floater and will also provide another seam-bowling option for the Mumbai Indians. He was in pretty good form in the recently concluded 5-match T20 series against England.
It will be interesting to see Mumbai Indians strategy during the auction and which are the big names the opt for. The defending champion will enter in the IPL 2020 Auction with the purse of Rs.13.05 Crores.
Also Read: Purse available with each franchise for IPL 2020 Auction
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