The mega auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 took place on February 12 and February 13, in Bengaluru. With the addition of two new teams- (Ahmedabad and Lucknow), the 15th edition of IPL will have 10 teams vying for the prestigious trophy.
In a situation like this, the ten teams have started analysing their strengths and gaps. Many former cricketers and cricket commentators are also expressing their views on this.
Hogg opens up
Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has now opened up on this issue and discussed Mumbai Indians franchise’s signings in the IPL mega auction.
Ahead of the mega auction, the Mumbai-based franchise had decided to retain four players and they were- Rohit Sharma (Rs 16 crore), Kieron Pollard (Rs 6 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (Rs 8 crore) and Jasprit Bumrah (Rs 12 crore).
In the mega auction, the five-time champions made some crucial signings as they roped in Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan for a huge amount of Rs 15.25 crore and England pacer Jofra Archer was signed for Rs 8 crore.
While talking about, Archer’s signing, Hogg said that spending Rs 8 crore on Archer “is a huge risk.”
“Spending 8Cr on Archer is a huge risk, especially after spending 15 crore on Ishan Kishan. He’s had two elbow surgeries in the last 18 months, that’s the worst injury a fast bowler could have,” said Hogg on his YouTube channel.
“They have a formidable top order in Rohit, Kishan and Surya and then David at No.4, which is also a risk. Who’s going to bat at No.5 is the big question. The bowling department is where their headache starts. They don’t have depth in their bowling and not many top class spinners. They also don’t have finishers like the Pandya brothers. This is one of the worst auctions MI has ever had,” the 51-year-old former Australia spinner further added.
Mumbai Indians squad for IPL 2022: Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis, Basil Thampi, M Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Tilak Varma, Sanjay Yadav, Riley Meredith, Mohd Arshad Khan, Anmolpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Aryan Juyal, Fabian Allen
