Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has named his four retentions for the five-time champions Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.
Despite the Test series going on between India and New Zealand, the news related to IPL has grabbed the eyeballs of many. The franchises have been given the deadline to submit their retention list by 30th November.
Each franchise can retain a total of four players. They can opt for different combinations like three India and one overseas or two Indians and two overseas players.
Read Also: WATCH- Rohit Sharma shares video of him, Shardul and Shreyas Iyer dancing; Ritika reacts
Among all the teams, Mumbai Indians no doubt will have the problem of plenty as with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Quinton de Kock all in the squad, it would be very difficult for the management to pick only four players among them.
With a star-studded line-up, there are many speculations about who will Mumbai Indians retain. While reports suggested that the five-time champions have retained skipper Rohit Sharma, pacer Jasprit Bumrah, all-rounder Kieron Pollard and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, many fans and pundits have also named their four retentions for the franchise.
While talking on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan also picked his retentions for the Mumbai Indians. The former all-rounder said that Ishan Kishan could be the first pick for the franchise. He added that the franchise would be aware of Hardik Pandya's form but they can look at the future and can invest in both of them.
"Ishan Kishan could be the first pick for Mumbai Indians. As for Hardik Pandya, you have got to understand. His form has dipped big time in the last one year, so MI would be aware of that. Quite a few things go on when you have to make the first four picks before the auction.
"So I feel they would look at the longevity and think – can we invest in Hardik Pandya or in Ishan Kishan? The future. Looking at that, they might go for Ishan Kishan and then maybe Hardik Pandya,” Irfan Pathan said.
Pathan said that among overseas players, Mumbai Indians will retain Kieron Pollard as he’s been the proven matchwinner for them for many years.
“Among overseas players, it will be Kieron Pollard. No doubt about that; at least in my mind. I don't know what Mumbai Indians are thinking. He is the guy that has won you games for so many years and consistently. His batting is still top-notch and is still the powerhouse when it comes to big hitting as well as finishing the games," he said.
Irfan Pathan said apart from Kieron Pollard, skipper Rohit Sharma and ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah would the two definite retentions.
"So, Pollard will definitely be on the radar. I would definitely go for Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya. I can actually name the other two guys as well. No. 1 would be Rohit Sharma and No. 2 would be Jasprit Bumrah,” he said.
(Star Sports inputs)
