IPL 2018: 3 players Mumbai Indians could have used RTM on instead of Kieron Pollard

Mumbai Indians had an extremely disappointing IPL season, failing to qualify for the playoffs despite possessing one of the strongest squads on paper.

In the auction, they bought the likes of Evin Lewis, Ben Cutting etc to strengthen the squad, but they made a huge mistake by using one of their 2 RTM cards - they had already retained Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya prior to the auctions - on Kieron Pollard.

It came as a surprise to many as Pollard wasn't in the greatest of form leading up to the tournament. Also, the fact that he doesn't bowl anymore made the decision to buy him all the more perplexing.

There were many other players in the Mumbai ranks from the previous season whom they could have bought back instead of the West Indian all-rounder, who scored a meagre 133 runs from 9 matches this season.

Here, in this slider, we look at 3 players Mumbai should have used their RTM card on instead of Pollard - three players who could have helped them make the top 4.

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#1 Jos Buttler

Buttler is arguably the best limited-overs batsman in world cricket today and the fact that he went to Rajasthan Royals for just INR 4.4 crore is astonishing. Buttler started off the season poorly but after being promoted up the order, found a new lease of life.

Buttler struck five consecutive half-centuries - including two 90s - singlehandedly carrying his side to the playoffs. He finished with 548 runs at a strike rate of over 150 this season and could very well have gotten a lot more had he not flown off to England for national duty just before the playoffs.

Mumbai had Evin Lewis at the top but he misfired more often than not, meaning they often got off to slow starts and could never make up the run rate thereafter. With Buttler at the top, that would not have been a problem.

#2 Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana

Mumbai right through the season lacked a solid middle order presence barring Rohit Sharma. They often got starts through Suryakumar Yadav but then collapsed or relied too much on the lower middle order of Hardik and Krunal Pandya to get them to competitive totals. However, Rana's presence might have solved that problem.

Rana played a crucial role in Kolkata Knight Riders' run to the playoffs, scoring 304 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of over 130. The biggest surprise though came in the form of his bowling. Rana picked up 4 wickets - including those of de Villiers and Kohli - at an average of 11 and economy of just over 7.

#3 Krishnappa Gowtham

Krishnappa Gowtham

Gowtham was a part of the Mumbai Indians in the 2017 IPL but did not play a single game. However, following a stellar domestic campaign, he was picked up by Rajasthan for 6.2 crores.

Gowtham has the ability to deliver four economical overs and also use the long handle to good effect. He picked up 11 wickets in 15 matches for Rajasthan Royals and also played a few devastating cameos with the bat, ending the season with a strike rate of 196.

Mumbai possessed only 1 spinner in their ranks in the form of Mayan Markande, who faded away after a promising start, and with Gowtham in the set-up, the Rohit Sharma led side could surely have made the playoffs.