'Who will bat at No. 7?': Pathan questions MI team selection in IPL auction - Hindustan Times

Mumbai Indians(MI) have got their squad ready for the Indian Premier League(IPL) 2023. In the mini-auction on Friday, MI bought Cameron Green (INR 17.5 crore), Jhye Richardson (INR 1.5 crore), Piyush Chawla (INR 50 lakh), Duan Jansen (INR 20 lakh), Vishnu Vinod (INR 20 lakh), Shams Mulani (INR 20 lakh), Mehal Wadhera (INR 20 lakh) and Raghav Goyal (INR 20 lakh). Among these, Green was the second costliest buy in the history of IPL. The total number of players in MI's squad now stands at 24 of which 16 are retained players.

For an average cricket fan, the MI squad might look strong but former India cricketer Irfan Pathan thinks otherwise. During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was asked to rate MI's auction performance on a scale of five and he gave them three-and-a-half to four points only.

ALSO READ: 'What is Shakib's age? May be he should get his eyes checked': Sunil Gavaskar's strong remark on Bangladesh captain

"Definitely between three-and-a-half to four. Cameron Green was an extremely good buy. I am giving one point less because you will feel one player is missing when you try to make their playing XI," reasoned Pathan.

The former fast bowler further explained his reasoning and said that MI will have a puzzle to solve when it comes to playing a batter at No.7.

"You can also get Cameron Green to open and then Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav - these four are confirmed. Tilak Varma will come at No. 5, Tim David will come at No. 6 but who will be the seventh player? Which other guy will bat here? It seems they missed out slightly there," he said.

Pathan however commended the bowling attack of MI that they might play with and even suggested the combinations.

"Other than that, your bowling is sorted. You got Piyush Chawla as a spinner. You have Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah, if they remain fit then it's the best, or else you have the option of both Behrendoff and Jhye Richardson," said Pathan

"Mumbai Indians' problem might get sorted out because of the impact player that is going to come. There you can play an extra bowler at No. 7, or a batter if you have to bowl second. So the overall team is good but I gave the rating based on the best playing XI," he added.