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Total expenditure – 3.76 crore
Squad
Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal (80 lakh + 33% loan fee share), Ishan Debnath (13 lakh + 25% loan fee share)
Defenders: Raju Gaikwad (25 lakh), Deepak Mondal (20 lakh), Syed Rahim Nabi (80 lakh + 33% loan fee share), Peter Costa (16 lakh + 25% loan fee share)
Midfielders: Lalrindika Ralte (27.5 lakh), Asif Kottayil (23 lakh + 50% loan fee share), Rohit Mirza (3.5 lakh), Ram Malik (7 lakh), Lalrinfela (16 lakh + 25% loan fee share)
Forwards: Singam Subash Singh (15.5 lakh + 50% loan fee share), Nadong Bhutia (12 lakh + 25% loan fee share), Sushil Kumar Singh (39 lakh + 33% loan fee share)
Overview
The Mumbai franchise, which is co-owned by Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor, were the big headline makers on day one of the players draft as they picked up five prominent names of Indian football. Their selection panel included former Mumbai FC midfielder Nishant Mehra and renowned Indian football columnist Arunava Chaudhuri. They were current India internationals Subrata Pal, Lalrindika Ralte, Syed Rahim Nabi and Raju Gaikwad and Arjuna Award winner Deepak Mondal. So there is surprise to see that in terms of international appearances they have the most experienced Indian contingent with over 230 caps. Subrata and Nabi were two of the most expensive names in the Indian pool so their selections were restricted on day two. Local boy Rohit Mirza was picked up along with youngsters Nadong Bhutia and Lalrinfela. In the end Mumbai were the second highest spenders.
Strengths
The big strength of the Mumbai franchise is clearly their experience with the likes of Subrata, Nabi and Deepak having a combined total of more than 500 top-flight league appearances. Unlike most other franchises, Mumbai’s Indian pool consists of genuine match winners in Subrata, Nabi and Lalrindika while Subash Singh and Ram Malik are exciting prospects. Many of their players are also high versatile with Deepak capable of playing anywhere in defence and Lalrindika likewise in midfield while Nabi can operate in a wide role either in defence or midfield.
Weaknesses
There are not too many weaknesses in Mumbai’s Indian contingent but there are slight question marks regarding the form and fitness of Nabi and Raju. Both players potentially are the best in their respective positions but struggled last season in the I-League and also lost their place in the national team. They also spent heavily on Sushil Kumar Singh, who didn’t even feature in the I-League last season.
Player to Watch
Subrata Pal
India’s number one fully deserves to be among the most expensive players after becoming the third Indian footballer to ply his trade in Europe. Other franchises could have foreign first-choice goalkeepers but Subrata is expected to start for Mumbai and he will be looking to have a consistent first ISL season ahead of another potential foreign move in the winter.
