5-time champions, the Mumbai Indians endured their worst-ever IPL season in IPL 2022 as they started off with straight 8 losses and even the 4 wins in the last 6 matches couldn’t save them from finishing last in the 10-team tournament.
The IPL 2023 auction is set to take place on December 16. The franchises have been told by the BCCI to finalize and announce the list of released and retained players by mid-November.
Mumbai Indians, who have always been astute in the IPL auctions, are likely to release a number of players, to make space in their purse to buy better players at the IPL 2023 mini-auction.
Here are 3 cricketers Mumbai Indians should not retain in their squad:
Tymal Mills
Mumbai Indians brought Tymal Mills to have the experienced England pacer give support to Jasprit Bumrah. Instead, Mills, who only plays T20 cricket, had a poor season – in 5 matches he picked up 6 wickets and leaked runs at an economy of 11.17 – before being ruled out due to injury.
Mills has also been struggling with injury and form since; he failed to make the 15-man initial squad of England for the T20 World Cup, and hasn’t played much cricket in recent months. If Jofra Archer is fit, MI should definitely release Mills, and look for other options.
Basil Thampi
Basil Thampi made his name in the 2017 and 2018 IPL seasons for his raw pace, his hitting the deck hard and also being able to bowl yorkers. All of which has vanished in the past few seasons, and his IPL 2022 seasons was unforgettable: Thampi managed 5 wickets in 5 matches and leaked 9.5 runs per over.
There have been a few emerging pacers in domestic cricket in India and also some impressive overseas performers; MI can target them and release the out-of-sorts Basil Thampi.
Ramandeep Singh
Chandigarh’s Ramandeep Singh got 5 matches to play in IPL 2022 because of injuries to other first-choice batters. However, the right-hander could only manage 45 runs at a strike rate of 112, and also leaked at 9 runs per over with the ball. Ramandeep’s overall batting average of 15 in 26 T20 matches just raises the question as to why MI bought him in the first place.
