5 players Mumbai Indians should sign in the IPL auctions

Mumbai Indians has been one of the most successful franchises in the IPL. The Mukesh Ambani-owned franchise has won the IPL trophy thrice and has entertained the crowds with some stunning cricket over the years.

Last year they went in the tournament as the defending champions. As only a limited number of players were allowed to be retained, there were a lot of changes in the personnel in Mumbai Indians.

After a mixed start, they struggled in the mid-phase of the tournament. Mumbai Indians failed to find the perfect balance as they struggled to get their playing XI right.

Moreover, the poor form of some key players like Kieron Pollard, Rohit Sharma, Mustafizur Rahman did not help their cause and they failed to make it to the playoffs.

However, the Mumbai based franchise is a champion side and is known for making comebacks.

They have already started to rejig their squad by buying South African star wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock in the trade window and they will have the opportunity to introduce new faces at the player auction.

Today we will look at 5 such players who can be bought by Mumbai Indians at the IPL auction 2019.

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#5 Rajneesh Gurbani

Gurbani has been brilliant for Vidarbha in domestic cricket

One domestic player who was extremely unlucky of remaining unsold last season was Rajneesh Gurbani. He ended the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy as the leading wicket-taker for Vidarbha with 39 wickets and played a huge role in Vidarbha's maiden Ranji Trophy title.

After getting ignored by the teams at the IPL auction 2018, Gurbani was selected to play for India A. The pacer has been highly impressive for India A.

Even though he is not an express bowler, he relies on swing and skiddy nature of his bowling and it can earn him a lot of wickets in the powerplays.

Also, Mumbai Indians struggled in their pace department last year and they would definitely want to have more options this season.

#4 Shivam Dubey

Dubey has the reputation of being a big-hitter

Mumbai Indians is known for unearthing the unheard talents. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya are some of the lesser known players whose talent was identified by Mumbai Indians and the rest is history.

Thus it won't be a surprise if the team management goes for someone like Shivam Dubey at the auction.

Shivam Dubey is an all-rounder who plays for Mumbai in first-class cricket. The 25-year-old has been putting up consistent performances for Mumbai over the last couple of seasons.

In T20s he has a healthy strike-rate of 147.65 and can hit the long ball. The left-handed batsman hits sixes at ease and can be an explosive lower-order batsman for the Indians. Dubey is mighty effective with the ball too.

The right-arm pacer took a fifer in his Ranji Trophy debut this season and also took three wickets in the finals of the Vijay Hazare trophy 2018. Dubey has the ability to ball the slower one in the death overs which helps him get more wickets.

#3 Jason Holder

Holder

can be an ideal replacement for Pollard

Jason Holder missed out on an IPL contract last year because of his mediocre performance for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2016.

However, Mumbai Indians' overseas pacers were a big disappointment last year and they are likely to change things around this season.

Mustafizur Rahman and Mitchell McClenaghan did well in patches but weren't able to perform collectively which cost Mumbai Indians dearly. Holder has played for three different franchises in the IPL so far and can use the experience of playing in Indian conditions.

The thing that can go in favour of the big Barbadian is the fact that his fellow West Indies all-rounder Keiron Pollard was in awful form last season and is all set to be released this year.

While Holder is a much better bowler than Pollard, his big hitting abilities in the latter half of innings can prove to be vital for Mumbai Indians.

#2 Hanuma Vihari

Vihari performed well for India A in the Tri-series in England

When Hanuma Vihari broke into the Indian Test team against England, it came as a major surprise that the talented youngster was unsold in the IPL auction.

Even though Test credentials have no bearing at IPL auctions, Vihari has been consistent in the list A matches as well and deserved to play the IPL.

Nonetheless, with some stellar performances for India A in the Tri-series in England and his home side, Andhra Pradesh in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare trophy might attract buyers this time around.

The stylish right-hand batsman scored 253 runs in three matches for India A in the Tri-series in England. Moreover, he scored runs at a strike-rate of around 100 which shows his ability to score runs when needed.

Mumbai Indians does possess a barrage of power-hitters in Rohit Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya but they do need someone in the middle overs to accumulate runs and hold the innings together. Vihari can be the missing link in Mumbai Indians' batting.

#1 Shimron Hetmyer

Hetmyer played some sensational knocks for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL

Shimron Hetmyer shot into prominence when he led West Indies to their first Under-19 World Cup title in 2016.

Hetmyer had been identified as a potential future star by the West Indies selectors and made his international debut next year. The highly talented batsman has shown glimpses of brilliance in his young international career and played some stunning innings for West Indies.

Even though he hasn't been successful in Tests, Hetmyer has an average of around 48 and an incredible strike-rate of 106.59 in ODIs.

The 21-year-old has the typical Caribbean flair to his batting and is known for playing attacking brand of cricket.

Hetmyer was in sensational form in the CPL where he scored 440 runs for Guyana Amazon Warriors with an outstanding strike-rate of 148.14.

The 21-year-old has shown glimpses of his batting prowess in the ongoing ODI series against India. He has looked in scintillating form and will be a hot property at the auction.

Hetmyer can be a good addition to the power-packed Mumbai Indians batting line-up.