Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have been in disastrous form in the ongoing IPL. They have played eight games so far and yet to win a single encounter. The team does boast of a few talented cricketers and hence, it is surprising to see their failure. Meanwhile, a few players may not wear the gold-and-blue jersey next season. In this article, we take a look at three players who might not play for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023.
1) Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard was one of the retained players for MI ahead of IPL 2022 Mega-Auctions. However, the West Indian has been in dismal form this season. In eight games, he could score only 115 runs at an average of 16 and a strike rate of 127.
The experienced campaigner recently announced his retirement from international cricket. Therefore, it might not be a surprise if he takes a similar decision with regard to his franchise career, although that is very unlikely. However, for MI, Pollard does not look to be a suitable investment now. The franchise is in a transition phase and they could rather give an opportunity to a player who might come good in the future. Hence, Pollard might not feature for Mumbai in IPL 2023.
2) Basil Thampi
Basil Thampi is one of the players who might not play for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023. The player got five games but was not able to leave an impression. He could pick only five scalps that too while having an economy of 9.50.
MI has always used the option of trading players to improve their squad. They might look to target someone like Kartik Tyagi or Chetan Sakariya to have a good domestic pace bowling partner for Bumrah from IPL 2023.
3) Murugan Ashwin
Murugan Ashwin was the preferred lead spinner for MI in the first six games. He did well to collect six wickets but did not look threatening like the spinners of other teams. Considering he is above 30 years, Murugan might be released.
Mumbai Indians might invest in a lesser-known player like that they did with Rahul Chahar and Mayank Markhande in 2018 and 2019. In fact, the latter is in the squad and they might as well make use of his services.
