In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai’s hopes for IPL 2023 were pinned on Jofra Archer. They had an enviable batting lineup, but their bowling lacked experience, and they were banking on Archer to come through.

However, his elbow injury relapsed midway through the season and Mumbai were left searching for reliable bowling resources. That they managed to come as far as Qualifier 2 despite such an inexperienced bowling attack is a testament to just how good their batters were.

Suryakumar Yadav brushed off his string of zeroes coming into the tournament and ended up having his best IPL season, pushing up their chances in the IPL betting. Tilak Varma continued from where he left last season. Cameron Green adapted well to whatever role he was given, and the likes of Ishan Kishan and Tim David contributed as well.

Mumbai have found a couple of potential stars for the future this season. Coupled with their solid core group, they have a decent base to build on for the next few years.

Keep

Jofra Archer is one of the most lethal fast bowlers in the world when he is at his best. Mumbai have already invested in him for the long term and with reports coming regarding them offering him a permanent contract, this partnership is only going to strengthen.

Suryakumar Yadav scored 603 runs at a strike rate in excess of 180. He is arguably the best T20 batter in the world right now, and also the deputy leader for Mumbai Indians.

Cameron Green was one of the best all-rounders in IPL 2023. He performed various roles with both bat and ball and was quick to adapt. In Green, Mumbai have a potential superstar for the next decade.

Tilak Varma is another superstar in the making. A left-handed middle-order batter who can adapt to situations, play the finisher’s role, and bowl some off-spin – Tilak is an extremely valuable asset that Mumbai wouldn’t want to let go of.

Tim David is one of the most fearsome finishers in T20 cricket at the moment. He is supposed to be the heir to Kieron Pollard for Mumbai. This year he scored 231 runs at a strike rate of 158. With more experience in the IPL, he’ll only get better.

Nehal Wadhera in IPL 2023 is what Tilak Varma was in IPL 2022. A young left-handed middle-order batter whom no one knew about before this season, Nehal is one of the newest additions to the list of Mumbai’s scouting successes.

Akash Madhwal got his chance in the second half of IPL 2023 and made everyone stop and stare at his quick, skiddy, and accurate fast bowling. He has shown that he is a quick learner and in him, Mumbai have found a reliable backup Indian seamer for Bumrah.

[breakout id=”0″][/breakout]

Ishan Kishan is Mumbai’s first-choice wicketkeeper for whom they shelled out 15 crores in the mega auction last year. He had a slow start to IPL 2023 but caught up decently towards the end.

Jason Behrendorff provided regular breakthroughs for Mumbai in the Powerplay. Mumbai have always loved overseas left-arm seamers. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t stick with him.

Piyush Chawla was one surprise packages of the season. He was a member of the commentary panel during the last IPL and came back to have his personal best IPL season at 34 years of age. Without him, Mumbai couldn’t have come this far in IPL 2023. They can retain him as the lead spinner, or keep him as a backup if they find someone younger in the auction.

Arjun Tendulkar finally made his IPL debut this year. He did decently in whatever chances he got, except for the one over where he was hit for 31 runs. Mumbai can keep him around as the backup Indian left-arm seamer for Behrendorff. Arjun’s batting is an added bonus.

Dewald Brevis did not get a single opportunity this season. However, his potential is well known.

Vishnu Vinod is a wicketkeeper who got a break for Mumbai this season when Tilak got injured. He is known for his six-hitting ability in domestic cricket and he showed that in the IPL as well, with his six over cover off Mohammed Shami being one of the shots of the season. Mumbai can and should keep him as the second wicketkeeper in the squad.

Riley Meredith had a poor start to IPL 2023. However, he displayed his ability to nail yorkers in a couple of games. Mumbai can keep him as a backup for Archer.

Shams Mulani didn’t get a game this season, but with the other spinners apart from Chawla not performing consistently, Mumbai can use his services next year. Being a local lad who’s played all his life at the Wankhede will also be an added advantage for him.

Either Way

Rohit Sharma is the face of Mumbai Indians. However, he hasn’t been at his best with the bat for a long time in the IPL now. While it is highly improbable that Mumbai will part ways with him, a poor individual or team performance at the upcoming ODI World Cup will increase the noise surrounding Rohit.

There are various possibilities. Rohit might consider retirement from T20s, Mumbai might consider releasing him and buying him back at a cheaper price in the auction, or they might relieve him of captaincy duties marking the beginning of a transition into the future. However, a good year in international cricket for Rohit will make sure that the status quo is maintained.

Kumar Kartikeya had a good start last season, but he has lost confidence in his leg break. He took just five wickets in eight games this year and wasn’t able to contain runs either (economy of 8.73). If Mumbai aren’t able to scout any other Indian left-arm spinner, then they can stick with him. If they are, then they can consider letting him go.

Raghav Goyal is another unknown domestic player Mumbai picked through their scouting. He’s a left-arm wrist spinner who played just one match this season but wasn’t able to make an impact. If Mumbai believe in his abilities, they can keep him around as a backup Indian spinner. If not, which can be the case given he wasn’t tried for more games despite the lack of a reliable second spinner, then they can let him go.

Arshad Khan had a lot of expectations on him coming into this season but he wasn’t able to live up to them, with either bat or ball. Mumbai have invested in him for quite a while now. But an economy rate of 13.4 from six games does not provide a lot of confidence. He’ll have to hope that Mumbai keep their faith in his abilities.

Tristan Stubbs hasn’t been able to make a mark so far in the IPL. Four innings have yielded him 27 runs. Mumbai now have a growing list of solid middle-order batters. With Rohit Sharma’s form being a concern, they might need a top-order batter more than a finisher going ahead, and we might see more of Brevis than Stubbs in the Mumbai playing XI. However, like Brevis, Stubbs is young and extremely talented, which might tempt them to keep him.

Release

Chris Jordan had a poor season for Mumbai. He came in as a replacement for Archer but had more negative impact performances than positive.

Hrithik Shokeen has been used sporadically over the last two seasons, primarily based on matchups since he’s the only frontline off-spinner available with Mumbai. But he hasn’t provided much confidence with his performances. Mumbai can look for other off-spinners in the domestic circuit during the auction.

Duan Jansen is a young left-arm seamer from South Africa. He made his IPL debut this year, but he doesn’t have a lot of pace and Mumbai already have several left-arm seam bowling options. They can let Jansen go and free up an overseas slot.

Ramandeep Singh is a middle-order batter who can bowl right-arm medium pace. He didn’t get a game this season and with Mumbai’s strong middle order, there are few chances that he will get one next year either. Releasing him might be the best idea for both parties.

Sandeep Warrier did not get a game despite Mumbai being short of experienced bowlers. That is an indication of the kind of confidence the management has in the player. They will most probably release him.