"The only option for them is to go for overseas spinner" - Anil Kumble gives Mumbai Indians 'marquee spinner' solution ahead of IPL 2023 auction

Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble believes the Mumbai Indians (MI) lack quality spinners in their ranks and will have to go for an overseas spin option in the upcoming auction. The mini-auction ahead of the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is scheduled to take place in Kochi on Friday, December 23.

MI have retained young spinners Kumar Kartikeya and Hrithik Shokeen while releasing Murugan Ashwin and Mayank Markande ahead of next season.

Speaking to JioCinema as part of their IPL Auction expert panel, Kumble believes Rohit Sharma and Co. should go for overseas spin options as he can't see the franchise roping in veteran Indian spinners like Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla.

Kumble explained:

“Mumbai Indians don’t have a marquee spinner in their ranks. Kartikeya did really well for them last year. If they have to go for an Indian spinner with experience than they will have to probably go back to Amit Mishra or Piyush Chawla.

"I don’t see that happening. Perhaps, the only option for them is to go for overseas spinner. Who will it be? There’s Adil Rashid, Tabraiz Shamsi, Adam Zampa."

Kumble, who was the chief mentor of the Mumbai Indians in 2013, also feels that the five-time IPL champions can also go all-out for Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza. He added:

“I would probably look towards Sikandar Raza because he can also give you a wonderful middle order batting as well, along with his spin which is not easy to pick, and he has done well in the recent past."

Raza has been in prolific form in recent times, including at the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. He smashed 219 runs in eight games at a strike rate of almost 148 in addition to picking up 10 wickets.

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Mumbai Indians' retained list of players

List of retained players: Rohit Sharma (c), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, and Akash Madhwal.

Mumbai Indians have a remaining purse of ₹20.55 crore going into the IPL 2023 auction.

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