"Mumbai Indians have pulled off a burglary" - Ravichandran Ashwin impressed with MI's acquisition of Romario Shepherd ahead of IPL 2024 

Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin feels the Mumbai Indians (MI) have pulled off a big bargain by signing West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd in an all-cash trade of INR 50 lakh from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Ashwin was impressed with how Shepherd performed in the West Indies' ODI series win against England. He also expressed admiration for how MI were able to pull off the tactically brilliant trade of Hardik Pandya.

In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Ravichandran Ashwin had to say about Romario Shepherd (18:30):

"Mumbai Indians have pulled off a burglary at LSG. Hardik Pandya is himself a well-organized planned heist like we saw in Money Heist. But Romario Shephard was a little pickpocket while walking for a breeze. I feel they have given 50 lakhs for a player on the right side of his career."

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Ravichandran Ashwin on how MI could use Romario Shepherd

Ravichandran Ashwin feels Hardik's acquisition has helped MI get into a situation where they may not field four foreigners in their playing XI at the beginning. He suggested they use Shepherd as an impact player, which he thinks could make the 29-year-old "dangerous."

On this, Ashwin stated (19:43):

"Romario Shepherd has been in the IPL for two years and has not exactly lived up to his potential. However, he scored with a 150 strike rate for West Indies against England and picked a couple of players as well. Mumbai have a solid Indian core so with the impact player rule, Romario Shephard is a dangerous player."

Romario Shepherd has played just four IPL games, scoring 58 runs and picking up three wickets at an expensive economy rate of 10.89. However, MI have a history of making the right use of players through some smart trades. Shepherd's heroics against England seem to suggest Mumbai have pulled off another coup.