IPL 2022 Auction: Mumbai Indians will have to break their bank to get Ishan Kishan, predicts Aakash Chopra

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Bengaluru, February 8: Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has claimed five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians will have to look for a different formula for success from now on considering the depth of the squad is weak.

Mumbai Indians had to let go of several of their match-winning players ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction, though the Mumbai-based franchise retained captain Rohit Sharma, Keiron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav.

The franchise didn't retain some of the key players from the core group like Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya. MI think-tank will be looking to strengthen the squad during the IPL auction and they might even face stiff competition from other franchises.

Speaking exclusively on STAR SPORTS SHOW GAME PLAN: IPL AUCTION SPECIAL, Chopra said, "It will be very very difficult because there is no right to match card, to begin with, and secondly, their whole success formula that they eventually found was about two skilled players - they had Hardik, Krunal and Pollard one after the other and that provided them with a lot of depth."

Chopra also highlighted the fact that Mumbai Indians might have to break the bank to buy someone like Ishan Kishan or Quinton de Kock because their performance has gone up in recent years.

"Their wicketkeeper was always a phenomenal batter, when you look at Quinton de Kock or Ishan Kishan - is it possible to now get all of them together, it's almost next to impossible. There is one thing that I think a record might just change that - in auctions, they rarely spend more than 10 crores on a player, I don't recall too many instances when they have gone ahead and broken their bank.

"This time at least for one if not two, they'll be getting close to that 10-crore mark - they'll do their level best to get back Ishan Kishan and that will come at a cost but yes they might have to look at a different formula for success as compared to what has worked so far," Chopra added further.

The IPL 2022 Auction will be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13 with names of 590 players going under the hammer.