Mumbai Indians made some wonderful purchases in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 mini auction. The 5-time champions did not spend a huge sum of money on any player and got players for a good sum and seem to have made a pretty good squad for the season. With that, it is time to look at their potential playing XI with an impact player for the 17th edition of the league.

Top Order

At the top of the innings, MI will have the services of Rohit Sharma. The star batter would be hungry to perform purely as a batter. It has been a long time since he had a stellar season as a batter in the league. Probably for the same reason, the management might have thought of freeing him from the captaincy burden to concentrate a bit more on his batting, although captaincy did not have a toll on him.

To partner him would be Ishan Kishan, who would also keep the wickets. Although he is not as quick as Rohit at the top, he could take his time and then attack the bowlers. It might be a slight concern for MI. But the management might ask him to bat fearlessly. With two batters firing at the top and star batters to follow, opponents would be thinking about the options straight away.

At number 3, MI have the power of Suryakumar Yadav. The star batter is a revelation in T20s over the years. He is such an anchor who can maintain the run rate with his aggressive knocks. MI has many such batters in their lineup and would love to maintain the same, given the nature of the wickets at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. It forms a brilliant top order for Mumbai Indians.

Middle Order

In the middle order, MI have some extreme firepower. At number 4, MI will play Tilak Varma, who is very dangerous as an aggressive batter. In the IPL 2023, he was phenomenal as a number 4 and would continue to be the impressive batter everyone knows of. If necessary, Tilak can bowl as well, although it might be much more useful given the impact player rule.

At number 5, the captain is likely to play. Hardik Pandya can be a genuine finisher for MI. But he is likely to continue at number 5, which might help him to act as a bridge between the top and lower-order batters. He can bowl as well, but fitness plays a crucial role in it. Having played a lot at the venue in past, Hardik would be a phenomenal option for MI in the 2024 edition.

At numbers 6 and 7, Nehal Wadhera and Tim David are likely to share their roles based on the nature of the innings. if they suffer a collapse and need some innings-building, MI might ask Wadhera to bat ahead of David. in other cases, the Australian finisher is likely to bat ahead of the Southpaw. Either way, MI cap off their batting with a robust batting lineup which would be a nightmare for the bowlers.

Lower Order

The lower order of Mumbai Indians will have 4 proper bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah and Gerald Coetzee are almost sure to start. there might be doubts over the selection of other players. but the two quality pacers are sure to handle the burdens of MI’s bowling. Bumrah with the new ball and later towards the death overs will provide the best bowling option towards the back end of the game for MI.

To handle death bowling, MI also have Akash Madhwal, who was impressive in the IPL 2023. The duo might be wonderful to watch in the 17th edition of the league. With them operating in the middle overs, MI can ask Coetzee to be a pure middle overs bowler. In fact, in the ODI World Cup 2023, the South African pacer succeeded as a second-change bowler in the middle overs.

To assist the wicket-taking bowler, MI has some very good spinners like Piyush Chawla, Shreyas Gopal, and Mohammad Nabi. They might be very useful for conditions that are slow. In other instances, MI is likely to play only Piyush Chawla as their sole spinner. For the PP overs at the top, Behrendorff is likely to come in as an impact player, which would cap off their playing XI.

Here’s their most probable Playing XI for IPL 2023: 

Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Nehal Wadhera, Tim David, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal, Piyush Chawla

Impact player: Jason Behrendorff