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After two days of intense bidding, the IPL 2022 Mega Auction concluded on 13 February with 204 players getting sold to ten franchises. While a few teams reached the maximum limit of 25 players in the squad, some had to settle for a lesser number. With two new teams participating, the dynamics of this mega auction were different from previous editions. This also resulted in franchises not getting hold of players they would have wanted.
Mumbai Indians were one of those franchises which tried hard to bring back its ex-players but could not succeed. They were quiet on Day 1 of the auction as they made only three purchases. They came back strong on Day 2 as they bagged Ishan Kishan for a whopping 15.25 CR. After that, they bought Jofra Archer for 8 Crores followed by Tim David for 8.25 CR.
Spending such a hefty amount on these three players forced them to buy the rest of the 18 players within 16.50 CR. They managed to get some exciting young talents as well as some big international names, but former Australia leggie Brad Hogg still believes that this was Mumbai Indians' one of the worst auctions.
Hogg gave a full-fledged review of Mumbai's squad and pointed out the shortcomings. He termed Archer and Tim David's pick as 'risks' and opined that Mumbai lack depth in bowling. "Spending 8Cr on Archer is a huge risk, especially after spending 15 crores on Ishan Kishan. He's had two elbow surgeries in the last 18 months, that's the worst injury a fast bowler could have. 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," said Hogg on his YouTube channel.
"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," he added.
Notably, Jofra Archer will not be available for the 2022 season. Thus, Mumbai will have to bowl one of Tymal Mills, Daniel Sams, and Riley Meredith along with Jasprit Bumrah at the death.
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