IPL Auction 2020: How MI line up for the season | Best and Worst buys

Mumbai Indians had the lowest budget ahead of the IPL 2020 auction, which was an indication how settled their squad was. They didn’t release too many players as most of them had lived up to the expectations last season.

With a budget of INR 13.05 crore, they were probably looking for a big hitter to replace Ben Cutting and an overseas fast bowler to replace Jason Behrendorff. And they knew exactly which players they wanted to go after.

Mumbai entered the bidding war for a few players and sealed a couple of fantastic overseas recruits. The defending champions bought some domestic youngsters as well later on in the auction.

Here are the players Mumbai Indians bought in the IPL 2020 auction

Chris Lynn – INR 2 crore

Nathan Coulter-Nile – INR 8 crore

Saurabh Tiwary – INR 50 lakh

Mohsin Khan – INR 20 lakh

Digvijay Deshmukh – INR 20 lakh

Prince Balwant Rai – INR 20 lakh

Here is the full Mumbai Indians squad after the IPL 2020 auction

Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn , Saurabh Tiwary, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Digvijay Deshmukh, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ishan Kishan, Aditya Tare, Sherfane Rutherford.

Best buy

Chris Lynn

Chris Lynn

Although Chris Lynn might not get into the playing XI straightaway with Quinton de Kock and skipper Rohit Sharma being the first-choice openers, he is still a fantastic buy at INR 2 crore.

Given his exploits in the recently played Abu Dhabi T10 league, a lot more franchises were expected to go after Lynn. But surprisingly, Mumbai didn’t have to stretch things too far to secure the services of the 29-year-old Aussie opener.

The pitch at the Wankhede stadium, where Mumbai Indians play their home games, is ideally suited for Lynn because of its bounce. Lynn likes playing his shots on the rise and the Wankhede pitch will allow him to do that.

Worst buy

Saurabh Tiwary

Saurabh Tiwary

Out of all the players that Mumbai Indians bought, Saurabh Tiwary’s purchase seemed the most inexplicable. There is hardly any chance of him getting a game as Mumbai’s middle order is packed with quality players. And he is not a young man either whom Mumbai would want to invest in for the future.

Tiwary has been a part of Mumbai Indians before, and has played a few match winning knocks for them, but that was a long time back. His career hasn’t really taken off since; in fact, it seems to be on the downslide now.

INR 50 lakh is not a huge price, but Mumbai could have done without this purchase.