Aakash Chopra names two players Mumbai Indians should retain ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction

While the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) hasn’t been concluded yet, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have started their preparations for the next season. Two new teams are set to come into the picture – making IPL a ten-team event. Moreover, a mega auction will also take place which would see the teams going under revamps.

For the unversed, in the mega auction, each franchise is allowed to retain just a few players. Although the retention policy for the next isn’t out yet, all teams aren’t expected to retain more than two or three players. Speaking on the matter, former Indian batsman Aakash Chopra said Mumbai Indians should retain their skipper Rohit Sharma and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah if only a couple of retentions are allowed.

Mumbai Indians should retain are Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah: Aakash Chopra

“The two obvious names Mumbai Indians should retain are Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. You can also think of Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Kieron Pollard. However, Sharma and Bumrah should be the two biggest retentions as franchises can only keep a couple of players ahead of the mega auction,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

With five titles in the cabinet, MI are the most successful side in IPL history. However, the ongoing season didn’t pan out as per their plans. With four wins in seven games, Rohit Sharma’s men pretty well in the first installment of the competition. However, they entirely lost the plot after the season resumption and their position in the points table narrates the entire story.

After 13 games, MI are sixth in the points table with 12 points. Although they have one more match to play, it won’t be enough to earn them a spot in the playoffs. Apparently, the Men in Blue and Gold need to defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by at least 171 runs to overtake currently fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders in terms of net run rate.

Moreover, MI’s hopes will get shattered in the toss session itself in case, SRH elect to bat first. With an impractical task at hand, Mumbai won’t be very optimistic to defy the odds. However, they would still want to end the season on a winning note.