"You will feel one player is missing when you try to make their playing XI" - Irfan Pathan on the Mumbai Indians

Irfan Pathan feels the Mumbai Indians (MI) will have a crucial cog missing if they try to make their best XI from the squad they have assembled.

The Mumbai-based franchise bought eight players at the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23. They had an available purse of ₹20.55 crore heading into the auction and spent the majority of the amount on acquiring the services of Cameron Green for ₹17.5 crore.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was asked how he would rate the Mumbai Indians' auction performance on a scale of five, to which he responded:

"Definitely between three-and-a-half to four. Cameron Green was an extremely good buy. I am giving one point less because you will feel one player is missing when you try to make their playing XI."

The former Indian all-rounder feels the five-time champions do not have a player who can wield the willow effectively at No. 7, explaining:

"You can also get Cameron Green to open and then Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav - these four are confirmed. Tilak Varma will come at No. 5, Tim David will come at No. 6 but who will be the seventh player? Which other guy will bat here? It seems they missed out slightly there."

Mumbai Indians might look to play Ramandeep Singh at No. 7. Arjun Tendulkar gives them another domestic all-round option, but he has not been tested at this level.

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"Your bowling is sorted" - Irfan Pathan on the Mumbai Indians' attack

The Mumbai Indians will hope that Jasprit Bumrah is fully fit for IPL 2023. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Pathan added that Rohit Sharma's side has a well-rounded bowling attack, elaborating:

"Other than that, your bowling is sorted. You got Piyush Chawla as a spinner. You have Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah, if they remain fit then it's the best, or else you have the option of both Behrendoff and Jhye Richardson."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by observing that the impact player rule could work to MI's advantage, saying:

"Mumbai Indians' problem might get sorted out because of the impact player that is going to come. There you can play an extra bowler at No. 7, or a batter if you have to bowl second. So the overall team is good but I gave the rating based on the best playing XI."

The impact player rule allows the franchises to replace a player during the game with one of the pre-defined substitutes. However, the impact player can only be an Indian unless a team starts the game with fewer than the four allowed overseas players.