IPL auction prediction: Will MI look to re-sign Ishan Kishan with Rs 45 crore purse?

The five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will be entering the IPL 2025 (Indian Premier League) auction.

With the joint second-lowest purse amount among the ten franchises i.e INR 45 Crore. However, the team management have done a phenomenal job of retaining their Indian core as they managed to keep the services of star speedster Jasprit Bumrah (INR 18 crore), swashbuckling batter Suryakumar Yadav (INR 16.35 crore), all-rounder Hardik Pandya (INR 16.35 crore), former captain Rohit Sharma (INR 16.30 crore) and rising star Tilak Varma (INR 8 crore).

Ahead of the player retentions, MI had one of the toughest task of retaining their strong core with all names being counted among the leading international cricketers. However, the team management was able to successfully complete the daunting task as they handed the largest amount to Bumrah retaining him for a whopping INR 18 Crore.

Given Bumrah’s stature in international cricket, the rest of the players agreed to have a salary cut and were retained for just above 16 Crore while youngster Tilak Varma got 8 Crore. Hence, Mumbai have retained five players and have one Right to Match (RTM) card available with them to be used during the auction. With 20 slots to fill in their squad, MI have a purse amount of INR 45 Crore along with eight vacant places for overseas players.

Which players can Mumbai target?

Mumbai let go of their shining star Ishan Kishan who played a pivotal role in their IPL 2020 triumph. Kishan’s numbers were diminishing over the past few seasons and he was overshadowed by Tilak Varma who emerged as Mumbai’s new young hero. Hence, they picked Varma over him in their retentions list. However, having backed him for a number of years in their franchise, MI might look to bring him back into their team but will face stiff competition from other franchises who’re having a higher purse amount.

Apart from him, the other wicketkeeper batter MI could target is Quinton de Kock who represented the franchise from 2019-2021. The southpaw played a pivotal role in their back-to-back triumphs in 2019-2020 seasons having scored over 500 runs in both seasons. Hence, de Kock could well be on MI’s radar as they look to fill their wicketkeeper’s slot.

Trent Boult and Bumrah to reunite?
Mumbai had the fiercest new-ball attack in the history of IPL during the 2020 and 2021 seasons as Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult used to seal the game for them in the powerplay itself. The duo, touted as the best new ball bowlers in world cricket complemented each other really well and ran through the opposition batting line up in the first six overs itself not allowing them to get off to a flying start. Hence, the management could well be tempted to have Boult back in the team who will once again form a formidable new ball attack with Bumrah.

Who will take the onus with spin?

One of the most crucial phases of a T20 game are the middle overs where the spinners need to keep the batters under check especially at a high-scoring venue like Mumbai’s homeground, the Wankhede Stadium. One such player who proved his worth bowling at the bowlers’ graveyard in Mumbai is Piyush Chawla. The wrist spinner has kept his base price at INR 50 Lakh and had a good season with MI in 2023 where he picked 22 wickets from 16 games. Hence, Chawla can use his experience of bowling at Wankhede to good effect and can prove to be the partnership breaker in the middle overs. Along with the experience of Chawla, MI can bank on a young spinner to do the job with him in the crucial phase.

Major shoes to fill in for big finishers
The five-time champions will also need some firepower lower down the order along with captain Hardik Pandya. The Pandya brothers also have a chance of re-uniting in Mumbai as the franchise is always keen on holding on or buying back their homegrown players. Hence, Krunal Pandya could also be seen returning to the franchise that built him over the years.

Two among Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Liam Livingstone and Sikandar Raza could come in as the big finishing all-rounder and complete a power-packed playing XI for Mumbai. The other slots will be taken by the rising Indian stars who’re always on the eyes of the MI scouting team and will be groomed by the management for the future seasons.

Mumbai’s Predicted Playing XI after IPL mega auction
Rohit Sharma

Ishan Kishan/Quinton de Kock

Suryakumar Yadav

Tilak Varma

Hardik Pandya

Liam Livingstone

Sikandar Raza/Mitchell Marsh

Krunal Pandya

Piyush Chawla

Jasprit Bumrah

Trent Boult