Former India opener Aakash Chopra has backed five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians to be one of the title contenders if they can keep a good vibe within the team. Mumbai Indians were knocked out in the second Qualifier game during the IPL play-offs last season. MI finished fourth in the IPL 2023 points table with eight wins in 14 matches. They defeated Lucknow Super Giants in the first eliminator before losing at the hands of Gujarat Titans.
Aakash Chopra praised Mumbai Indians’ auction strategy. On his YouTube Channel, Aakash expressed his astonishment with what Mumbai Indians were able to pull with just 17.75 crores. Mumbai Indians bought eight players in the auction and filled the right holes with their purchases and now they are looking formidable ahead of the IPL 2024.
Aakash Chopra Speaks On Mumbai’s Auction
“The auction Mumbai Indians did was fantastic. They had earlier made a trade and then the job they have done with 17.75 crore is unbelievable. They have picked one leg-spinner in the form of Shreyas Gopal but they have Shams Mulani, Kumar Kartikeya, and Piyush Chawla. You might see spin as slightly weak but fast bowling will make up for it,” said Aakash Chopra.
Aakash Chopra added that if Mumbai Indians could keep a good vibe in the squad then they could be one of the title contenders for the coming season. Gerald Coetzee was the costliest purchase for Mumbai Indians at 5 crores. They also got two Sri Lankan pacers, Dilshan Madhushanka and Nuwan Thushara.
Mumbai Indians Announced Hardik Pandya As Captain For The IPL 2024
“If the Mumbai Indians are able to keep a good vibe within the team, because the captain has changed and the last two years have not been that good, and get a winning start, they are title contenders. You cannot rule them out at all this time. The Mumbai team is looking very good. The good old team has come,” Aakash Chopra added.
One of the concerns for Mumbai Indians for this season would be to keep a good dressing-room atmosphere. After they announced Hardik Pandya as the skipper for MI this season, Mumbai Indians are not getting the same support as the fans do not like the way they abruptly removed their most successful skipper from his role and brought in a player who left the squad back in 2022 for a captaincy stint with another franchise.
The dressing room might be a bit tense given Rohit Sharma will have to play under Hardik Pandya and Rohit is still the official captain of the India National Cricket Team in all formats. Hardik Pandya has a good experience as a captain but Rohit Sharma should get a well-deserved farewell and the fans think that he should have left captaincy on his terms and not just been replaced.
Mumbai Indians Squad For IPL 2024: Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff, Romario Shepherd, Hardik Pandya (c), Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma.
