"The job they have done with 17.50 crores is unbelievable" - Aakash Chopra on Mumbai Indians' acquisitions at IPL 2024 auction

Aakash Chopra has lauded the Mumbai Indians (MI) for virtually filling all the gaps in their squad despite having a limited budget heading into the IPL 2024 auction.

MI had a remaining purse of ₹17.75 crore before the auction in Dubai on Tuesday. They bought eight players for just ₹16.70 crore, with Gerald Coetzee at ₹5 crore being their costliest purchase.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that the Mumbai Indians aced the auction. He said (4:15):

"The auction Mumbai Indians did was fantastic. They had earlier made a trade (Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans) and then the job they have done with 17.50 crores is unbelievable."

The former India opener pointed out that Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka and Nuwan Thushara's acquisitions have helped MI form a formidable seam-bowling unit. He stated:

"If you get Gerald Coetzee for five crores, then Dilshan Madushanka for 4.6 crores, and after that Nuwan Thushara, you have prepared a complete team. They have at least six to seven fast-bowling options."

MI already had Jason Behrendorff and Romario Shepherd as overseas seam-bowling options heading into the auction. Apart from the three foreign seamers, they also acquired Anshul Kamboj as an Indian pacer to complement the existing trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal and Arjun Tendulkar.

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"You might see spin as slightly weak but fast bowling will make up for it" - Aakash Chopra on the Mumbai Indians' bowling

Piyush Chawla was MI's highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra expects the Mumbai Indians' formidable seam-bowling attack to compensate for the slight weakness in their spin-bowling department. He elaborated (4:35):

"They have picked one leg-spinner in the form of Shreyas Gopal but they have Shams Mulani, Kumar Kartikeya and Piyush Chawla. You might see spin as slightly weak but fast bowling will make up for it."

The cricketer-turned-commentator feels the five-time champions can be title contenders if they can create a good team environment. He said:

"If the Mumbai Indians are able to keep a good vibe within the team, because the captain has changed and the last two years have not been that good, and get a winning start, they are title contenders. You cannot rule them out at all this time. The Mumbai team is looking very good. The good old team has come."

MI acquired Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans ahead of the auction and announced him as their captain for IPL 2024, replacing Rohit Sharma. They will hope that the move does not hamper the team atmosphere, considering that the all-rounder will have to manage senior players like Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav, who have all captained India recently.