3 former MI players who would have been a perfect match for you at IPL 2023

Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI) had a season to forget in 2022 as they hit rock bottom with just four wins in 14 games. They also registered an unwelcome record by becoming the only IPL team to lose their first eight games after impact.

The team and its fans haven’t seen such a decline in nearly a decade, as they’ve consistently won silverware or at least made the playoffs. However, it’s always difficult to keep your champion players in a mega auction and Mumbai had to be rebuilt from the ground up.

While there are some young stars linked with veteran players in the current MI roster, here are three former players they could have benefited from given the gaps in their IPL 2023 roster:

#3 Mohsin Khan

Uttar Pradesh pacer Mohsin Khan was snapped up by the Mumbai Indians at the 2018 IPL auction and groomed under some former world-class fast bowlers like Shane Bond and Zaheer Khan.

However, in his four seasons at the club, Mohsin failed to get a game. He was sold at base price at last year’s Lucknow Supergiants Mega Auction and that proved to be a feat.

Mohsin took 14 wickets in just nine games in IPL 2022 with a fantastic save rate of 5.96. He was fast and also showed the ability to roll across different phases.

Mumbai’s current squad doesn’t have enough quality Indian pace options, which could force them to play two overseas quicks alongside Jasprit Bumrah. Had they held Mohsin he could have developed a fantastic partnership with Bumrah and also given MI the opportunity to add an additional batter from overseas.

#2 Rahul Chahar

Rahul Chahar at IPL 2019

4-0-14-2 in Qualifying 1
4-0-14-1 in the final

He is ONLY Indian bowling economy under 4 in consecutive games of an IPL playoff (while bowling all 4 overs)

Also, ONLY MI bowlers can bowl 100+ overs without bowling a single no-ball

HBD @rdchahar1

Rahul Chahar in 2019 IPL4-0-14-2 in qualifiers 14-0-14-1 in finalsHe is ONLY Indian who has played Economy under 4 in consecutive games of an IPL playoff (while bowling all 4 overs) also ONLY MI Bowler Plays Bowl 100+ Overs Without Bowling Single No BallHBD @rdchahar1 💙

Spin continues to be a worrying department for Mumbai Indians, just like last season. The five-time champions have spotted some talented options like Hrithik Shokeen and Kumar Kartikeya, but they only have Piyush Chawla when it comes to wrist rotation.

Quite a few eyebrows were raised when MI didn’t crack down on Rahul Chahar in the mega auction. He was one of Rohit Sharma’s main weapons whenever he needed a wicket and was a key part of their title-winning campaigns in 2019 and 2020.

Mumbai may still have some cards up its sleeve with a few uncapped gems. However, it’s safe to say that they probably couldn’t replace Rahul Chahar’s quality.

#1 Hardik Pandaya

Arguably one of MI’s biggest losses was Hardik Pandya, a player they raised to be an absolute beast. Hardik won four titles with Mumbai and most importantly became the seam bowling all-rounder any IPL team would have longed for.

Not only was he an explosive mid-order brawler for the Mumbai Indians, but he was also a pacesetter with an uncanny ability to break partnerships. With other stars like Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard in the mix, Mumbai made the difficult decision not to keep Hardik.

They tried out Daniel Sams and Ramandeep Singh in the role last year and invested heavily in Cameron Green ahead of the 2023 IPL season. However, Hardik Pandya’s absence is still visible in the current squad.