An in-depth preview of Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the IPL 2024 auction including their strengths, weaknesses, purse remaining, players to target and more.

Mumbai Indians are a largely settled squad and one of the most consistent sides in the history of the tournament. They finished fourth on the points table in the 2023 IPL and defeated Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator. The Rohit Sharma-led side have won the title five times previously, in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.

Mumbai Indians IPL 2024 auction preview: Trades, full squad, purse & slots remaining
Trades

Mumbai Indians traded Romario Shepherd from Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the 2024 season and then made waves when they traded Hardik Pandya for an all-cash trade from Gujarat Giants. Cameron Green was also traded from MI to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Players released

Arshad Khan, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Raghav Goyal, Jofra Archer, Tristan Stubbs, Duan Jansen, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Chris Jordan, Sandeep Warrier.

Squad before auction

Rohit Sharma (c), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, N. Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd (from LSG), Hardik Pandya (from GT)

Purse remaining (in INR)

17.75 crore

Slots remaining

8 (4 overseas)

Mumbai Indians IPL 2024 auction preview: Strengths

Strong middle order

In Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Tim David and Hardik, Mumbai Indians have the most lethal middle-order batting prowess. While Yadav is arguably the best T20 batter in the world currently, Varma and Wadhera offer plenty of talent, with the former also making his India debut following the 2023 IPL. The fact that Mumbai’s middle-order is packed with Indian talent allows them to strengthen their bowling with overseas players.

A shrewd skipper in Rohit

Rohit has been a phenomenal IPL skipper, with all five titles coming under him. He has utilised his resources splendidly in the past and is one of the few skippers who has managed to knead together data and the knowledge of match-ups with instinct.

Mumbai Indians IPL 2024 auction preview: Weaknesses

The spin department is thin

Though Piyush Chawla excelled for the side last year, getting 22 scalps, he has been inconsistent in the tournament before that, picking up 16 wickets in three seasons. MI also do not have another experienced spinner alongside him, making them one of the few teams without a reliable spin unit.

Need pacers to back up Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is arguably the best white-ball bowler currently but MI need an experienced overseas quick alongside him. Jason Behrendorff is the only quick in the squad but he can be expensive on his day. Without a reliable bowler alongside Bumrah, batters will look to play out the India pacer and take on the others, reducing his effectiveness.

Mumbai Indians IPL 2024 auction preview: Potential first XI

Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Hardik Pandya, Tim David, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jasprit Bumrah, Jason Behrendorff

Mumbai Indians IPL 2024 auction preview: Players to target

Spinners: Mumbai Indians would ideally want a spinner who is plying his trade for the international side currently to bolster their bowling attack and should target Mujeeb ur Rahman, who is also a handy batter down the order. Wanindu Hasaranga will also be a good choice to go after, especially with an overseas all-rounder’s slot open in the team.

Overseas quicks: With the batting heavily reliant on Indians, Mumbai can afford to even have two overseas quicks in their XI, a luxury other teams can rarely afford. They might look for either Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood and will also be interested in Gerald Coetzee, who can be an excellent backup.