'Somebody like Zampa or Rashid will be perfect for Mumbai Indians'

MUMBAI: The IPL 2023 Auctions are less than a week away and teams are in full preparation to get the best possible squad for the upcoming IPL season.

While some teams are set with their rosters, only requiring a few changes, other teams will be looking at a major uphaul in their squads, by targeting some of the biggest names in the auction. With the likes of Ben Stokes, Adam Zampa and Mayank Agarwal ready to be snatched up by teams, a lot of paddles are expected to be raised for these star players.

Another big factor which comes into play is the purses of each team, with franchises such as Punjab Kings and SRH having a substantial amount of money left in their kitty. The IPL 2023 Auctions will be the first milestone on the road to the IPL, which will be held on the 23rd of December, 2022 on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports show 'Game Plan - Auction Special', former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar spoke on Mumbai Indian's squad, how they are going to shape up for next season and who they will be targeting at this year's auction, he said "You know when you look at their bowling attack, and last time around they suffered, but now they've got Jofra Archer, Bumrah is fit, they've got Jason Behrendorff, so that's a quality attack which they've got, so that's not a problem.

Rohit Sharma also comes back into form, taking care of stuff, so they'll be hoping that he gets going too. But leg spin, now every IPL team needs somebody like Rashid Khan. So, they are looking for their Rashid khan or a Sunil Narine. So, that's where somebody like a Zampa or an Adil Rashid can come into the equation to find the leg spinner.

So, all three aspects seems okay despite their performance last season. So, yes a wrist spinner, they have let go of M. Ashwin, they have a history of spinners, there was Markande with them, Rahul Chahar, they should never have let him go, he's gone, so maybe an overseas spinner somebody like a Zampa or an Adil Rashid will be perfect for them."

Irfan Pathan spoke on the two teams with the biggest purses in the auction - Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and how they will be looking to fill their squads with quality at this year's auction by targeting some of the biggest names available, he said "Definitely, both Punjab Kings as well as SRH, they're going to show their masses at the auction because look, one things for sure that when we don't have a settled unit, when you don't have a proper playing eleven which Punjab and SRH don't have, that means they have a big bank balance and that means they need to be very smart, they need to be aggressive as well in these auctions because they have the muscle power and I think Adam Zampa, they will go after him from the word go.

SRH will go after Mayank Agarwal because they need a kind of abrasive opener as well. They don't have Kane Williamson right now who led them for many years as an experienced player and who used to open the innings as well.

Mayank Agarwal is the kind of guy who has led a side, who plays quite freely as well, is very fearless, and very selfless. They might be thinking of him going forward as a leader as well. So let's see what's going to happen, but definitely they are going to look for that kind of introduction in that auction."