Anil Kumble urges Mumbai Indians to hunt for overseas spinners

Spin legend Anil Kumble has said that the five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) do not have a marquee spinner in their ranks and they must involve in aggressive bidding at the upcoming IPL 2023 auction to get one for the next season.

At the same time, he has also heaped praise on emerging spinner Kumar Kartikeya for doing an excellent job for the franchise last season.

Former India skipper Kumble also added that MI should target an overseas spinner among the likes of Tabraiz Shamsi, Adam Zampa, and Adil Rashid in order to complete their jigsaw puzzle.

Probably go back to Amit Mishra or Piyush Chawla: Anil Kumble

"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," said Kumble while speaking to Jio Cinema.

Mumbai Indians had a horrendous campaign last season where they lost all their matches in the first half and by the time they gathered steam in the second half, it was too late as the former champions had to settle for the wooden spoon.

The Rohit Sharma-led side would now be hoping for a revival in fortunes this time around as they eye a record sixth IPL crown. MI still have a staggering INR 20.55 crore left in their purse and they would be looking forward to invest the money smartly with a focus on long-term goals. The IPL 2023 mini-auction will be held in Kochi on Friday, December 23.

In the days leading up to the auction, one of the Mumbai Indians’ biggest match winners and an accomplished Caribbean all-rounder Kieron Pollard retired as an active player and would serve the franchise as the batting coach in the coming days.