"Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc could be 2 bowlers that Mumbai Indians would be gunning for" - Sanjay Manjrekar on MI's IPL 2024 auction strategy

Sanjay Manjrekar reckons either Pat Cummins or Mitchell Starc could be the Mumbai Indians' (MI) primary target at the IPL 2024 auction.

MI released a plethora of overseas seamers — Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Duan Jansen, Riley Meredith, and Jhye Richardson — ahead of the auction. However, they traded in Romario Shepherd, a seam-bowling all-rounder, from the Lucknow Super Giants.

While previewing the auction on Star Sports, Manjrekar opined that the Mumbai Indians might look to acquire either Cummins or Starc. He reasoned:

"Mumbai Indians were pretty poor, if I have to be brutally honest, with their auction. So they have corrected most of their mistakes (with their trades and releases). I think they might need a backup overseas bowler because they have got Jason Behrendorff, there is no Jofra Archer."

The former India cricketer added:

"With Australia's recent triumph (in the ODI World Cup), you will see a lot of the Australian players, especially people like Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. So Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc could be two bowlers that Mumbai Indians would be gunning for."

The Mumbai-based franchise has a remaining purse of ₹17.75 crore heading into the auction. They can acquire at most eight players, which includes four overseas vacancies.

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"They have got a great middle order" - Sanjay Manjrekar on the Mumbai Indians

Hardik Pandya's return has strengthened MI's middle order. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Sanjay Manjrekar believes MI have a formidable middle order after they traded in Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans. He said:

"They have got a great middle order. Somebody like a Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya comes in, there is Tim David as well. Pace bowling-wise, maybe a little short. So they might want to have another overseas option."

The cricketer-turned-commentator also expects the five-time champions to look for a top-order replacement for Cameron Green. He elaborated:

"They have got about 17.5 crores. So I expect them to go hard at Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Also, I think somewhere at the top because Cameron Green used to bat at the top of the order and be an exciting option at No. 3 or open. They might want to have an opener as well as an option."

MI have a formidable potential top six — Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, and Tim David. They also have two good batters as Impact Player options, Nehal Wadhera and Vishnu Vinod, and would thus primarily want to bolster their bowling at the auction.