As the mini-auction date ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 is getting closer, the experts have started predicting the game plan of different franchises in the players’ bidding process. Following the bandwagon, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has picked two overseas stars that Mumbai Indians (MI) can target.
Notably, the Rohit Sharma-led side finished at the bottom and missed the playoff berth in the previous edition of the tournament. MI suffered ten defeats in the league phase of the competition and only recorded four wins in IPL 2022. Hence, they were forced to release as many as 13 players from their squad prior to the upcoming auction.
Considering the current side, the five-time champions have two of the best pacers in the form of Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer. But in the spin department, they don’t have a quality spinner, and Manjrekar suggested two names who can do the same work that Rashid Khan and Sunil Narine have done for their respective franchises.
Manjrekar reckoned that Mumbai could bid for Australian spin sensation Adam Zampa and England’s tweaker Adil Rashid in the upcoming event. Zampa has played 14 games in the IPL, picking up 21 scalps with the help of a five-wicket haul. When it comes to T20Is, Zampa has 82 wickets to his name in 72 matches.
Rashid, on the other hand, has been a bit unlucky as he has only played once in the lucrative league, where he conceded 35 runs in a wicket-less spell. However, his numbers in the international arena has been impressive. The leggie has taken 93 wickets in 92 games at an economy rate of 7.42.
“Every IPL team needs somebody like Rashid Khan. They are looking for their Rashid Khan or Sunil Narine. So that’s where perhaps somebody like a Zampa or an Adil Rashid could come into the equation to find a leg-spinner because all the other aspects seem okay despite their performances last season,” Manjrekar said during a Star Sports show, ‘The Game Plan’.