IPL 2024: Mumbai Indians (MI) Retained Players Best Playing 11

Hardik Pandya back with Mumbai Indians as we look at Retained Players Best MI playing 11 2024 ahead of the IPL 2024 Auction. 

Hardik Pandya! Yes, that’s the buzzword that has dominated the IPL 2024 Trading window more than anything else. And guess what, who was behind the Hardik Pandya trading news? Yes, you guessed it right. It’s Mumbai Indians. The franchise that made Hardik Pandya, the player that he is today has once again successfully acquired his services for IPL 2024.

The addition of Hardik Pandya has cost Mumbai Indians Cameron Green, who has been traded to Royal Challengers Bangalore. But is that a bad trade-off for MI? Well, definitely not. Not only is Hardik the best all-rounder in the world, but the fact that he is an Indian gives Mumbai Indians extra ammo to buy a solid overseas bowler.

Overall, Mumbai Indians have retained 17 players including 4 overseas players. The breakup of players includes 5 batters, 2 wicket-keepers, 3 pace all-rounders, 2 spin all-rounders, 2 spinners, and 3 pacers. The team now has INR 17.75 Cr in their kitty, which they can use to buy a maximum of 8 players including 4 overseas players. 

Nevertheless, with Hardik Pandya in the squad, things look super positive for MI, who now have a playing 11 that can arguably be called the best of the lot. So, what does their first-choice playing 11 look like? Well, let’s find out the strongest MI playing 11 2024 of Retained Players ahead of the IPL Auction. Before that, let’s revisit the official retained squad list for Mumbai Indians.

IPL 2024 Retained Players List for Mumbai Indians (MI)

Batters: Dewald Brevis (o), Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma & Tim David (o)

WKs: Ishan Kishan & Vishnu Vinod

All-rounders: Arjun Tendulkar, Hardik Pandya (t), Nehal Wadhera, Romario Shephard (t&o) & Shams Mulani

Bowlers: Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff (o), Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla 

Total Players Retained: 17 // Purse Left: 17.75 Cr

IPL 2024 Mumbai Indians (MI) Retained Players Best Playing 11

Top-order: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan & Dewald Brevis 

If we talk about the best two openers for Mumbai Indians, think no other than Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. The two have been MI’s Frontline attackers for a few years, and will continue to do so. However, it is the number 3 position that needs the discussion. Ideally, Cameron Green used to play at that position, but with Green not there, whom will MI play?

Well, MI have three options to look for. One, there’s Tilak Varma, then there’s Suryakumar Yadav, and finally there’s Dewald Brevis. Between the three, if we look at the Strongest replacement for Green, it has got to be Dewald Brevis. Brevis fills the gap perfectly between an attacking top-order and an aggressive middle-order. Aside from that, his talent is too good not to get enough opportunities.

Middle-order: Suryakumar Yadav & Tilak Varma 

Coming to the middle-order, Mumbai Indians are once again filled with solidity with Suryakumar at 4 and Tilak Varma at 5. While SKY is the world’s number 1 T20 batter, Tilak Varma has shown enough potential and good performance for MI in the last couple of years. Both form a formidable middle-order for Mumbai Indians.

Finishers: Hardik Pandya & Tim David 

While we are going ga ga over the top 5 batters, what follows next will make you go wow. With Hardik Pandya in the side, we have a solid finisher combo in the form of Hardik Pandya and Tim David. The addition of Pandya just changes the dynamics in such a fashion that they don’t have to depend on Nehal Wadhera for the finishing role.

Bowlers: Romario Shephard, Jasprit Bumrah, Piyush Chawla & Jason Behrendorff 

With a solid top 7, the bowling line-up isn’t too bad either for Mumbai Indians. The return of Jasprit Bumrah makes them a much stronger bowling attack this time, and with Piyush Chawla and Jason Behrendorff in good form, it is icing on the cake for them. However, the only weak link they have currently is Romario Shephard.

With Romario Shephard currently in the starting 11, MI need to plan for a solid overseas pacer or spinner in the IPL 2024 Auction. While the impact player rule does solve this as they can always play Akash Madhwal as an additional bowler, they would still want to utilize the Auction to get that one fierce bowler.

IPL 2024 Mumbai Indians (MI) Retained Players Best Playing 11:

Rohit Sharma [c], Ishan Kishan [wk], Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Tim David, Romario Shephard, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah & Jason Behrendorff

So, that’s about the Strongest MI playing 11 2024 of Retained Players ahead of the IPL Auction for Mumbai Indians. Overall, the team looks solid on paper even before the Auction. However, Mumbai Indians will need to spend all their purse value to get 1-2 solid overseas pacer or spinner, which will make them an invincible team.

Thanks for reading! What’s your take on the retained players best MI playing 11 2024 ahead of the IPL Auction? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com

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