IPL: 3 Players who can replace Evin Lewis in Mumbai Indians squad

As the trade window is nearing to an end, Mumbai Indians have released their opener Evin Lewis from their squad. The Mumbai-based franchise has acquired the services of Dhawal Kulkarni from Rajasthan Royals. Mumbai have certainly bolstered their bowling line-up after snapping up Trent Boult and Dhawal Kulkarni. However, Mumbai need to strengthen their batting force too.

Mumbai Indians will now have to fill the void left by Lewis in the upcoming IPL 2020 auction. Lewis, who had joined the side before IPL 2018 for a sum of 3.8 Crores, had a great debut season as he scored 382 runs in 13 games.

However, he failed to cement his place in the squad as Mumbai Indians acquired the services of Quinton de Kock and assigned him the role to open the innings along with skipper Rohit Sharma. Lewis just got three chances in IPL 2019 and was always in line to be released. Mumbai Indians, who have a large pool of players, also have the likes of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare and Siddesh Lad to open the innings.

As the IPL 2020 auction is not much far away, here are the three players who fill the void of Evin Lewis:

1. Jason Roy

Jason Roy is expected to garner a lot of attention in the IPL auction due to his impressive batting performances in 2019. Mumbai Indians will be keeping an eye on the hard-hitting batsman, who has the ability to open the innings and finish the match in the slog overs too. Roy, along with Alex Hales has established himself as a vital cog of the English top-order batting attack.

Roy represented Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League in 2017 and 2018 respectively. However, the right-hander decided to pull out of the tournament in the following season due to World Cup preparations. After their successful World Cup campaign, Roy, along with many other English players will be hot-favourite in the IPL 2020 auction.

Roy started off his World Cup 2019 campaign with a quick-fire fifty against South Africa and an impressive 153-run knock against Bangladesh. Unfortunately, Roy tore his left hamstring and missed out on three games. However, Roy bounced back on the scene with a 56-ball 66 against a formidable Indian bowling line-up. Mumbai Indians could utilise Roy as an opener either with De Kock or Rohit Sharma. Otherwise, Roy can be pushed down at Number three or four as well.

2. Tom Banton

Labelled as the ‘Next Big Thing’ for England, Tom Banton would be under the scanner of Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians, who have flourished many young prospects over the years will be eager to invest in Banton. The wicketkeeper-batsman recently made his T20I debut against New Zealand and is also expected to don the national jersey in near future.

Despite having less international exposure, Banton has emerged as a crucial player for Somerset due to his hard-hitting style of batting. The 21-year-old is also labelled as the successor of Jos Buttler. Mumbai Indians will be keeping a close eye on Banton’s performance in the T10 League, where he will be representing Qalanders. Banton smashed his maiden ton against Kent in the T20 Blast 2019, where the world saw a glimpse of his stellar batting ability.

The right-handed batsman has played 12 First-class matches and has gathered 570 runs including five half-centuries. If Banton lives up to his potential, he can certainly develop into a crucial player for his national side. At the moment, the 21-year-old is one of the most sought-after young wicketkeeper-batsmen in the world.

3. Yashasvi Jaiswal

Yashavi Jaiswal took the world by storm by his heroics in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The Under-19 star smashed a double ton in 154 balls against Jharkhand, including 12 sixes and 17 fours. The 17-year-old became the youngest player to score a List A ton. Yashasvi achieved this feat against a formidable bowling line-up of Jharkhand, comprising the likes of Shahbaz Nadeem and Varun Aaron.

The left-handed opener was the highest run-getter for Mumbai and fifth overall in the entire tournament. In his six outings this season, Jaiswal gathered 564 runs at an astounding average of 112, including three centuries and a half-century.

Earlier in the season, the youngster had impressed everyone by smashing hundreds against Kerala (113) and Goa (122). Many IPL franchises including Mumbai Indians will be keen to invest in talent like Jaiswal. Mumbai Indians could certainly flourish Yashasvi as the future replacement of Rohit Sharma. The teenage sensation has the potential to don the Indian jersey one day.