Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has been left perplexed by Mumbai Indians’ strategy in the IPL 2022 mega-auction. The 5-time champions had gone into the auction with a 48 crore purse, after retaining Rohit Sharma (16 Cr), Jasprit Bumrah (12 Cr), Suryakumar Yadav (8 Cr), Kieron Pollard (6 Cr).
They had two clear plans: buy back Ishan Kishan, and buy Jofra Archer; they were successful in both. However, that cost them a total of 23.25 crore. Further, Archer is likely to not play this season as he underwent a second elbow operation is in rehabilitation.
Brad Hogg reckoned it is a big risk MI took by spending a huge chunk of their purse on Archer, who will miss this season and there’s no certainty about the England speedster next year.
“Spending 8 crore on Archer is a huge risk, especially after spending 15 crore on Ishan Kishan. He’s had two elbow surgeries in the last 18 months, that’s the worst injury a fast bowler could have,” Brad Hogg said in his YouTube channel.
Hogg further pointed out that Mumbai have also left a hole in their batting order. Between a strong top order of Rohit, Kishan, Suryakumar and lower positioned Pollard, Mumbai will be filling the middle spots with the likes of Tim David, Tilak Varma, and Dewald Brevis.
The Aussie chinaman spinner also remains sceptical about Mumbai’s spin-bowling as they don’t have any established top-quality spinner.
“They have a formidable top order in Rohit, Kishan and Surya and then David at No.4, which is also a risk. Who’s going to bat at No.5 is the big question. The bowling department is where their headache starts. They don’t have depth in their bowling and not many top class spinners. They also don’t have finishers like the Pandya brothers. This is one of the worst auctions MI has ever had,” Hogg asserted.
Mumbai Indians squad: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis, Basil Thampi, M Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, N Tilak Varma, Sanjay Yadav, Jofra Archer, Daniel Sams, Tymal Mills, Tim David, Riley Meredith, Mohammad Arshad Khan, Anmolpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Fabian Allen, Aryan Juyal.
