Mumbai Indians break the bank for Australian all-rounder Cameron Green as they shell out INR 17.50 crores in IPL auction

Australian all-rounder Cameron Green has taken the IPL 2023 auction by storm in his first appearance as the Mumbai Indians (MI) broke the bank for him. The towering all-rounder fetched a jaw-dropping ₹17.50 crores after multiple franchises went big on him.

Green grabbed the spotlight during Australia's three-match T20I tour of India in September as he opened the innings with Aaron Finch in David Warner's absence. The 23-year-old hit two half-centuries in three games and compiled 151 runs while maintaining a strike rate of 214.55. The youngster is a handy bowler and a gun fielder as well.

Meanwhile, the bidding at the auction started with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, followed by Mumbai Indians entering the fray as the amount quickly surged to ₹7 crores.

Delhi Capitals also joined the party; however, the five-time champions stayed in the hunt after failing to get Sam Curran. With ₹17.50, he became the second-most expensive player in this auction, behind Curran's ₹18.50.

Green could also be an able replacement for Kieron Pollard, who quit his IPL career and will now serve as the franchise's batting coach.

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Mumbai Indians finished at the bottom in IPL 2022

Meanwhile, the five-time champions haven't been at their best in the last two editions, finishing in the lower half of the points table. Rohit Sharma and Co. lost a staggering 10 games last season, while winning only four. Hence, they will be keen to put on a better performance in the upcoming tournament.

Before the mini-auction, Mumbai Indians had retained 16 players, including Rohit Sharma, Tim David, Tilak Verma, Dewald Brevis, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Arjun Tendulkar, and Jofra Archer.

With Archer on his road to recovering from an elbow injury, it bodes well for their pace attack, which struggled in IPL 2022.

They also cquired Australia's left-arm seamer Jason Behrendorff, traded from the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.