The Mumbai Indians are the most successful franchise in the IPL history having won the most number of titles – 5 – in addition to a couple of Champions League trophies as well.
Mumbai have always been lauded for their shrewd tactics in the IPL auction, where they assemble a strong team, blending experience with youth, smartly picking up the overseas players who’d gel with the Indian core to deliver desired results in the middle.
The Ambani-owned franchises have astutely refrained from spending big money in the IPL auctions until recently.
Here, we look at the six most expensive buys by Mumbai Indians in the IPL auction over the years:
Jofra Archer-8 crore
England star Jofra Archer is unlikely to be part of IPL 2022, but this didn’t stop MI to spend 8 crore on the 2019 World Cup winner. Teaming up Archer with Jasprit Bumrah is a great gift from the franchise to their loyal fans, and something which everyone will be looking forward to seeing next year.
Archer was the MVP of IPL 2020 when he starred with both bat and ball for Rajasthan Royals.
Nathan Coulter Nile-8 crore
Australia’s Nathan Coulter-Nile was bought for 8 crore by MI in IPL 2020 auction. The lanky pacer made a crucial contribution – figures of 2/29 – in the IPL 2020 final versus Delhi. He’s now joined the Royals.
Tim David-8.25 crore
Tim David, the hard-hitting Singaporean-Australian batsman who can bowl handy off-spin, was purchased by the 5-time champions in the mega-auction for 8.25 crore having been impressed by his ball-muscling capabilities in the franchise leagues.
Tim David made his IPL debut last season and played one game for RCB after he was roped in as a replacement player.
Krunal Pandya-8.8 crore
One of Mumbai’s success mantras is to keep its core intact. That’s why they splurged out 8.8 crore for Krunal Pandya in the IPL 2018 mega-auction using their Right to Match card. Pandya was the Man of the Match of the IPL 2017 final, and remained a core member of MI’s eleven until last season. He has now been bought by the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2022 mega-auction.
Rohit Sharma-9.2 crore
After putting regular impressive shows in the first three IPL seasons with the Deccan Chargers, Rohit Sharma was likely to attract high bids in the IPL 2011 mega-auction. He did, with Mumbai spending 9.2 crore on the then youngster.
Two years later, Sharma was asked to lead the franchise mid-season when the team had been losing games. He took the bottom languishing team to their maiden title that season. Rest is history, as Sharma delivered four more titles.
Ishan Kishan-15.25 crore-The costliest player bought by Mumbai Indians
For the first time ever, Mumbai Indians spent more than 10 crore in any IPL auction, and they did it for a special player – Ishan Kishan was re-bought by the franchise for a whopping 15.25 crore, making him the most expensive player at the IPL 2022 mega-auction.
While MI couldn’t retain him – as they went with the experienced Suryakumar Yadav over Kishan – they were adamant on regaining the services of the 23-year-old wicket-keeper. Following his blockbuster IPL 2020, Kishan made it into the Indian T20 team and the T20 World Cup squad, and is now in the fray for the opener’s slot in the national side.
