The IPL is just around the corner and teams have already begun training. Right now, every team’s think tank would be attempting to decipher their best combination, a task which is of the utmost importance in order to make a good start in the tournament.
Mumbai Indians are the defending champions of the IPL and have brought in plenty of new signings, be it in the form of players or new jersey sponsors, Perfomax, a sportswear brand by Reliance Trends. The Rohit Sharma-led team have made some good signings to start off their title-defense. While their signings list doesn’t include any big-names, there is actually huge potential for this team’s young Indian core.
Be it Jasprit Bumrah or Hardik Pandya, these guys first emerged to the scene through IPL and the same could happen once again with the current batch of new signings.
And here are the five best signings made by Mumbai Indians this season:
Krunal Pandya
The second name will make one instantly wonder whether he is a relative of new star Hardik Pandya. As a matter of fact, Krunal is the older brother of the already-established Hardik Pandya.
It seems as though the senior is following in his junior brother’s footsteps as it was for the Mumbai Indians that Hardik Pandya made a name for himself. While it is apparent that Hardik is the more established one, Krunal is undoubtedly the more hardworking one—and sometimes that is enough to do miracles.
An all-rounder by trait, Mumbai Indians spent Rs. 2 crores on him, which alone is a sign of his ability, and he could just become another strong all-rounder in their line up.
Tim Southee
Mumbai Indians' strategy at the auction was clear: targetting young Indian stars while buying established internationals. One of the two major foreign signings they made was New Zealand pacer Tim Southee.
Despite being extremely consistent for New Zealand, Southee is extremely underrated. However, what stands out about him is the way he uses his experience to deal with tricky situations. With him on board, the Indians not only have a good bowler, but also a good mentor for the youngsters.
The defending champions now have Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga and Tim Southee as their main pacers. An attack that will make every opposition batting line-up shake in their boots.
Nathu Singh
Mumbai Indians created a wave of tremors when they won the bidding war to sign a player whose name 95% of the people never heard before for a ground-breaking and eye-popping, for Rs 3.2 crores. The player in the limelight was Nathu Singh.
Not much is known about him, except for one thing: he is fast. Like, really fast. Glenn McGrath was the first one to spot him during the youngster’s time with the MRF pace academy and the legendary Australian knew, at that very moment, that he was witnessing the making of a special bowler.
It has been reported that he can bowl at 145kmph at regular intervals while also touching 150kmph occasionally. And it is for this reason that Rahul Dravid urged Rajasthan Royals to keep track of him.
Unfortunately, however, the Royals were banned from this tournament and Mumbai got him instead. If he is half as good as people say, then he will create havoc for the other teams.
Jos Buttler
Jason Roy and Joe Root might have taken most of the plaudits for England, but it was Jos Buttler whose hitting power helped England get the extra 10-15 runs in each match as he stamped his authority at the World T20.
The England wicketkeeper-batsman is in the form of his life as he is coming off from a great World Cup that will do a world of good to his confidence.
The best part, however, is the fact that he has played in India for the last month and will have no problems whatsoever with adjusting to the conditions. He is sure to be a starter in this Mumbai Indian teams, making them a team filled with power hitters.
Buttler will be donning Mumbai Indians' Performax jersey and if he can replicate his form with England, the defending champions have a hell of a player on their hands.
Kishor Pramodh Kamath
A little-known name that wouldn’t excite the fans and, to be fair to them, he isn’t likely to be in the starting XI from the very first game itself. However, Kishore Pramodh certainly has the talent to play and become a mainstay in the starting XI.
After Mumbai signed him for a whopping 1.4 cr rupees, many wondered who he actually was…someone for whom Mumbai Indians just spent a major chunk of their budget.
A leg-spinner by trait, he caught the eyes of scouts with his performances for Hubli Tigers in the KPL—in a tournament where he wasn’t even supposed to play, but after KL Rahul's injury Hubli Tigers called him up to fill up the void.
He took 10 wickets in the 7 outings for Hubli Tigers, which came at an economy rate of under 6, and instantly caught the eye of both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, in a battle which was won by the latter.
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