IPL 2020 Auctions: Three players who could be released by the Mumbai Indians

The IPL 2020 auction is fast approaching and all the franchises have been busy planning their strategies ahead of the auction in December. Although this year's auction will see a limited number of players going under the hammer, there could be a few players who will earn the big bucks.

One of the most consistent teams in the IPL has been the Mumbai Indians, and a major driving factor behind their success is their confidence in the same bunch of players with every passing season. MI has often been known as a team which grooms talent, providing them with a platform to excel and push for a spot in the national team.

Two of India's most important cricketers, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, are the flag-bearers of this MI ideology. Having started off with MI, Pandya and Bumrah impressed in the IPL and earned their spot in the Indian team.

With MI boasting of some star players in the side, they could be expected to release only a few players ahead of the auctions, and here are three such names.

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#3 Ben Cutting

Ben Cutting

Signed by MI in 2018, Ben Cutting was touted to be a perfect fit as a big-hitting lower-order batsman for the Mumbai side. However, a couple of underwhelming seasons means that he could be released from their squad ahead of this year's auction. In two seasons with MI, Cutting could manage to score just 114 runs and pick 3 wickets from 12 matches.

Cutting was mostly handed a spot as a backup to Kieron Pollard, but with the burly Jamaican striking rich form in the previous edition of the IPL with 279 runs from 16 matches at a strike rate of 146.77, Pollard is certain to take up the foreign all-rounders' spot.

Additionally, with Sherfane Rutherford coming into the MI setup in a trade deal with the Delhi Capitals, Cutting could be walking out of this MI squad ahead of the auctions.

#2 Barinder Sran

Barinder Sran

Barinder Sran was signed up by the Mumbai Indians in the 2019 auction. With pacers from Australia and England either missing the entireity or major chunk of the previous edition of the IPL, Indian pacers were in demand, and Sran pocketed a big ₹3.4 Cr contract from MI.

However, he featured in just three matches for MI and finished wicketless from the season. Additionally, he was also quite expensive, leaking runs at a rate of 12.75 RPO. With MI housing two of the best death overs specialists in Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah, apart from Australia's Jason Behrendorff, Sran might miss out from a spot in the playing XI and hence could be released from the MI squad.

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#1 Evin Lewis

Evin Lewis

Evin Lewis joined the Mumbai Indians in 2018, and in the same season, he scored 382 runs from 13 innings at a strike-rate of over 138. However, in 2019, MI negotiated a deal with RCB in the trade window and brought in Quinton de Kock.

With de Kock bringing about a lot of experience and reliability at the top of the order, the South African was the first choice opener at the top, alongside Rohit Sharma last season. The southpaw had a top season, scoring 529 runs from 16 innings and played a key role in MI's title triumph.

Besides, the opening spot in MI's side has the most competition. Other than de Kock and Rohit Sharma, Indian stars such as Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav among others could also open the batting. Hence, Lewis might just be left behind in this race of openers.