With the hammer going down in the grand IPL auction within next few hours in Dubai, eyebrows are raised and excitement galore amongst the cricket fraternity experts and fans about the outcome of the IPL 2024 auction and how it would be beneficial to some who are trying to rebuild their squads freshly over again with future in mind.
The most talked about franchise in IPL is undoubtedly Mumbai Indians(MI) who has won 5 titles of IPL over the last 10 years since 2013. The Ambani led management franchise has always been instrumental in giving examples of a visionary future and this year it wont be anything different.
Right from the inception of IPL since 2008 till the upcoming auction on 19th December, Mumbai Indians has being unique in their style of acquisition and retaining of players. What amuses more from a viewer point is the ability and knack of Mumbai Indians to process and select a player and develop it into the product effective to represent their respective countries in the highest form of cricket.
Many such examples are seeing in Indian cricket itself be it Sachin Tendulkar to become its first captain or Robin Singh as its coaching staff. Keeping lesser known Rahul Sanghvi as a specialist to hunt down young talents or making use of International coaches like John Wright , Mahela Jayawardene or Shane bond as their mentoring staffs.
Mumbai Indians (MI) as a franchise over the years understood the need of growth for talent and this hunger led them to conspire a leader in Rohit Sharma whom they first bought in 2010 then nurtured him for next 3 years and in 2013 in the midway handed him the reigns of the team from ably capable Ricky Ponting only to go further and win the elusive IPL title that year.
The confidence and trust shown on Rohit Sharma as a captain was to the level that in the forthcoming years till 2023 Mumbai Indians had 4 more titles to their name and Rohit Sharma becoming the most successive captain of IPL history after Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
This vision of Mumbai Indians was not only limited with Rohit Sharma ,it went further and produced future superstars for India like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya who was instrumental as a young talent winning Mumbai 4 of their 5 titles.
Further the allrounder has tremendous success in the year 2022 leading his side Gujarat Titans(GT) to their maiden title in the first year of inception itself and again reaching finals in the 2023 IPL season thus creating a wide buzz when he decided to return to his old franchise ahead of 2024 season of IPL.
However their vision to grow on the talent pool have urged former Australian player Brad Hogg to predict the importance of quality overseas pacers in the upcoming IPL 2024 mini auction to support the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and others.
MI need a fast bowler – Brad Hogg predicts the strategy for MI in IPL 2024 auction
With the auction round the corner , many cricket experts all across the globe on their social platforms or programs have began to predict their favorites at the Auction table. Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg feels Mumbai Indians (MI) will be eyeing quality overseas pacers in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 mini-auction.
The five-time champions are looking to reshape their bowling attack bolstered by Jasprit Bumrah’s return from injury. MI released Jofra Archer, and their priority in the auction will be to replace him.
Archer only played a handful of matches in the 2023 edition and was far from his best in the limited appearances, largely due to injury concerns. MI made it to the playoffs on the back of the franchise’s exceptional batting quality and depth, coupled with some unlikely names like Piyush Chawla and Akash Madhwal stepping up in a big way.
Hogg thinks that MI could be a force to be reckoned with if they manage to rope in South African pacers Gerald Coetzee who has impressed everyone with his wonderful stint as a young dynamic fast bowler in the recently concluded World Cup guiding his team to the semis.
Even in semis he was impressive with late wickets which for a brief gave jitters to eventual champions Australia in chasing a meagre total .and Lance Morris an upcoming fast bowler from Australia.
“They need a fast bowler, they have been boosted with an Indian all-rounder in Hardik Pandya. They still need someone to complement Bumrah and Behrendorff. I think they will go for Coetzee upfront, they will be hoping to get him cheaply,” said Brad Hogg.
“If not Coetzee, then they will go for Lance Morris. If MI get both Coetzee and Morris, they will be challenging GT because they will have a very balanced lineup,” he added.
It will be interested to now see whom Mumbai Indians (MI) who is known for building future bids upon to support very able Jasprit Bumrah come auction day.