There is no doubt that Mumbai Indians (MI) is the most successful franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Rohit Sharma-led side have won as many as five IPL titles, which is the most by any team in the history of the cash-rich league.
The Indian Premier League is all about having a strong Indian core and that will reap the rewards over a period of time and especially in long leagues – Chennai Super Kings is an example of that along with MI. But it seems like they are in for some headaches with the mega-auction coming up ahead of the IPL 2022 season.
Actually, the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to auction two new teams in May during the final phase of the upcoming edition of IPL. If this happens, then in the mega-auction, the Mumbai-based franchise won’t be able to retain the swashbuckling batsmen duo of SuryaKumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan – who recently made their national debut for Team India in the 2nd T20I against England.
As per retention rule, an IPL franchise can retain any three players but RTM can be used for retaining only one overseas and one uncapped player during the IPL auction. In this scenario, MI will retain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya as the three capped Indian players and will have to let go of both Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav.
It may also be expected that the inclusion of two new teams might inspire the IPL Governing Council to change the existing rules. But only time will tell whether such changes would take place or not.
Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan impressed on his national debut smashing a whirlwind fifty against England on Sunday during the second T20I at the Narendra Modi stadium. He hit a breezy 32-ball 56 to power India to a seven-wicket win and that saw him being adjudicated the man of the match. The win helped India level the ongoing five-match T20 series.
On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav did not get to bat as India won the game. In the field, he had a mixed day – he dropped a sitter while he also took a catch.
