"Does work as added advantage" - Zaheer Khan on why MI targeted left-arm pacers in IPL 2022 auction

Mumbai Indians (MI) got left-arm pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Tymal Mills in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 auction, as well as the young Arjun Tendulkar for squad depth.

Zaheer Khan, one of the best in the business when it came to bowling left-arm pace, feels that the Mumbai side have an advantage due to the different angles they bowl from, compared to right-hand pacers. Speaking on a video released by the franchise, Zaheer said:

"Well, look, a left-armer does bring a different angle and that does work as an added advantage when it comes to bowling. So we were looking at left-handers in particular and I’m glad that it all worked out."

He added that there were some left-armers that they were hoping to get in the auction but were out of the side's budget. However, according to the former pacer, the Mumbai side were still able to put together a balanced squad with the type of players they wanted. He said:

"We did go for certain left-handers that went out of our reach but we held our ground and made sure that we put up a squad together that we can have a lot of hopes from."

One such left-arm pacer the Mumbai Indians did miss out on in the auction was their former star, Trent Boult. In addition to the left-arm seamers, they also added Jofra Archer, Riley Meredith, Daniel Sams and Basil Thampi to their pace attack in the IPL 2022 auction.

The Mumbai Indians retained Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the auction as well as West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who can chip in with his medium pace. Archer, of course, will not be available for IPL 2022 but has been bought with a long-term blueprint in mind.

MI break the bank for Ishan Kishan

Mumbai Indians made their most expensive signing ever at an auction when they shelled out ₹15.25 crores to get back explosive wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan. It was the second-highest amount any Indian player has ever gone for in an auction.

Mumbai Indians fended off Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad to win an intense bidding war for the 23-year-old gloveman. They also spent big on Tim David and Jofra Archer.

While they went up to ₹8.25 crores for the Australian-born Singapore international all-rounder, the England pacer fetched ₹8 crores when he went under the hammer.

Archer, despite being unavailable for IPL 2022, received interest from former team Rajasthan Royals as well as Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, Mumbai eventually tabled the winning bid for the player.