As the IPL 2021 came to a blockbuster end, the defending champions from the last season, Mumbai Indians were left with a sour taste in the mouth as they were eliminated before the playoffs. They tried hard to hang in the contest but the equation in the last game was so titanic that even a colossal score of 235 couldn’t really get them across the line.
There were a lot of factors that constituted Mumbai’s woeful display in the recently concluded edition. Krunal Pandya was one of them while the bowling unavailability of Hardik cost them dearly. Even Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, the heroes of the last time couldn’t really fire up proceedings as they arrived in UAE.
With the mega-auctions coming up shortly, the management must have chalked their calculations out. They will be eyeing to keep the best players in their squad while letting go of the others. For a team like Mumbai, it is a no-brainer that which three players will get the retention.
#1 Rohit Sharma
The most successful captain of IPL with five trophies to his name, Rohit Sharma will undoubtedly be the first option that Mumbai would retain. The man has managed to score 5611 runs from 213 matches at a fine average of 31.17. He has got 40 half-centuries and one century in the glittering domestic extravaganza. Needless to say, the impact that Sharma brings with himself to the table is way too staggering to be subbed. Even if Mumbai drops a subtle rumour about releasing Sharma, there will be a queue of all the seven other franchises to rope the Indian vice-captain in their ranks.
#2 Jasprit Bumrah
Mumbai Indians’ elite express bowler, Jasprit Bumrah is probably one of the best bowlers across the face of the planet in all formats of the sport. He is a mean-machine and he means business from the very start. He has two lethal variations in his slightly one-dimensional arsenal that includes a nasty toe-crushing yorker and a piece of chaotic sweet chin music. He has claimed 130 wickets to date from 106 matches at an extraordinary strike rate of 18.63. Keeping the stats aside the crucial dot balls that he is able to produce in the death overs can flip the fortunes of an evenly contested encounter.
#3 Suryakumar Yadav
Despite a decent show in India in the recently concluded edition, Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t really blaze the UAE phase and fell short of options against the formidable bowling line-ups. However, in Mumbai’s last clash against a depleted Sunrisers, SKY managed to flex his muscles with a grandstand 82. He has evolved heavily as a batsman and he continues to be a bright prospect in the star-studded sky of rising stars. From 115 games, he has managed to amass 2341 runs and he will continue to be a vital cog in the plans of the Mumbai Indians as they will be eyeing a bounce back in the forthcoming edition.
