"I feel they will have to change their auction strategy slightly" - Aakash Chopra on the way forward for the Mumbai Indians

Aakash Chopra reckons the Mumbai Indians (MI) might have to tweak their auction strategy to be successful in the Indian Premier League (IPL) going forward.

MI finished fourth in the IPL 2023 league phase with 16 points to their credit. They thrashed the Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator before bowing out of the tournament with a loss to the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that the Mumbai Indians might need to have a slightly different approach at the next auction, explaining:

"If we look at the way forward, they will have to do something about their bowling. While they invest a lot in youngsters, I feel they will have to change their auction strategy slightly and will have to strengthen their bowling because the batting got you to this stage this time, but it will not happen every time."

The former Indian opener pointed out that the five-time champions cannot solely rely on their batting to win them the title:

"If you don't have the bowling to back it up, you will remain far from the trophy. No matter how good your batting might be, eventually it's a game of bat and ball. The ball is important and if you don't bowl well, how will you go forward?"

MI conceded 200 or more runs six times in IPL 2023. However, they won three of those games based on their batting might.

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"What will happen if Bumrah remains injured?" - Aakash Chopra on the Mumbai Indians' bowling issues

Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of IPL 2023 due to a back injury. [P/C: iplt20.com]

While highlighting Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer's injury-related concerns, Aakash Chopra believes the Mumbai Indians cannot stick with Chris Jordan, elaborating:

"Whether it is fast bowling or spin, they really have to look elsewhere, because what will happen if Bumrah remains injured? Jofra Archer is a huge name but he hardly played, there are too many injuries. Jason Behrendorff is okay - T20, new ball okay but then what. They will have to leave Jordan."

The renowned commentator concluded by observing that the Mumbai Indians need remedies in both their seam and spin-bowling departments:

"Jhye Richardson was a very good pick but he got injured, so what should be done about him? This team has struggled more with injuries. Barring Akash Madhwal, no other shining star was seen in the Indian fast bowling. In spin, barring Piyush Chawla, no one else was seen. Fast bowling and spin - both need an injection to cure them."

Piyush Chawla (22), Akash Madhwal (14) and Jason Behrendorff (14) were the only MI bowlers to pick up more than seven wickets in IPL 2023. Most of their frontline bowlers were taken to the cleaners as well, with Chawla (8.11) being the most economical.