Coaching Staff
Head Coach - Charlotte Edwards
Mentor & Bowling Coach - Jhulan Goswami
Batting Coach - Devieka Palshikaar
Captain - Harmanpreet Kaur
SQUAD with Auction Price
Players - Amount (in Lakhs)
Harmanpreet Kaur - 180
Natalie Sciver Brunt - 320
Amelia Kerr - 100
Pooja Vastrakar - 190
Yastika Bhatia - 150
Heather Graham - 30
Issy Wong - 30
Amanjot Kaur - 50
Dhara Gujjar - 10
Saika Ishaque - 10
Hayley Matthews - 40
Chloe Tryon - 30
Humairaa Kaazi - 10
Priyanka Bala - 20
Sonam Yadav - 10
Jintimani Kalita - 10
Neelam Bisht - 10
Mumbai Indians - the most successful franchise in terms of wins in the Indian Premier League came with the similar swag & strategies in the WPL Auction. Before coming on to Auctions, they had already shown their mindset by appointing one of the best batters of her time & successful coach in England & Australia Cricket Circle, Charlotte Edwards as Head Coach and then the poster Women of Women's Cricket in India & one of the fastest Bowlers in Women's Cricket, Jhulan Goswami as Bowling Coach & Mentor. They looked patient and composed throughout the auction and builded up a balanced squad. But, is the squad capable of lifting the first ever Women's Premier League Trophy?
Let's have a look at their squad Player by Player :
1. Harmanpreet Kaur - RHB, RAO
Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of Indian Team is known for showing Stadium roofs to the opposition bowlers. Not for anybody's surprise, she was announced the captain of Mumbai Indians. She is superb spin hitter as well as quite good against pace. She possesses an average of more than 28 in T20Is which goes above 30 in Indian conditions. But, her recent form hasn't matched her potential except that mesmerizing innings in Semi Final of the World Cup.
2. Yastika Bhatia - LHB, WK
India's Capped Top Order Batter. Can anchor the innings but finds difficult to accelerate. Her T20I career strike rate of 85 depicts the same.
3. Pooja Vastrakar - RHB, RAM
Currently the fastest pacer for India. Pooja is generally hit the deck bowler & adds value with the bat in lower order. Her kinda All Rounders are rare in India. So, should be a great asset for the team.
4. Amanjot Kaur - RHB, RAM
Represents Chandigarh & India A in domestic circle. Made her debut for India in recently concluded tri series in South Africa where she scored 41 runs & won Player of the Match in the very first match of her career. Bats in middle/lower middle order & can bowl some overs of medium pace.
5. Dhara Gujjar - LHB, RAM
Plays for Bengal & India B. Top order batter who can add some value with the bowl as well.
She was 4th highest run scorer in Women's Senior One Day Trophy, 2021-22 with 355 runs on an average of 71.
Recent Form - 17, 8, 15, 20, 0r 0w, 33, 75, 21r 0w, 3, 115
Dhara has an impressive average of 37.98 in local cricket & has also picked 24 wickets in 39 innings.
6. Saika Ishaque - LHB, LAO
Another rising star from Bengal, Saika has played for Trailblazers in the Women's T20 Challenge Tournament. Saika is a wicket-taking Left Arm Spinner.
Recent Form - 1w, 2w, 0w, 4r 2w, 14r 0w, 24r 1w, 14r 2w, 0w, 1w, 3w
7. Humaira Kaazi - RHB, RAM
Humaira is Mumbai based middle order batter who has played for India B as well. She scored 239 runs on an average of 59 in Women's Senior One Day Trophy, 2021-22.
Recent Form - 20, 4r 0w, 1, 37r 0w, 39r 0w, 102r 3w, 24r 0w, 45r 1w, 68r 2w
8. Priyanka Bala - RHB, WK
Priyanka represents the strongest team in Indian Domestic Circle - Railways.
She is lower middle order batter with good wicket keeping skills.
She was the highest run scorer in recently played Senior Women's Inter Zonal One Day Tournament with 271 runs on an average of 67.75.
She possesses an average of 44 in 44 innings in local cricket.
Recent Form - 10, 40*, 3, 6, 5*, 11, 16, 15
9. Sonam Yadav - LAO
An impressive Left Arm Spinner from Uttar Pradesh represented India in the U19 World Cup where she picked 5 wickets in 6 innings at the strike rate of 17.2
10. Jintimani Kalita - LHB, RAM
A decent bowling All Rounder from Assam domestic Circle. Bowls good medium pace & adds some value with the bat as well in lower order.
Have a look at her stats in local cricket -
Runs (883), Avg (27.59) - 53M/46I
Wickets (37), Avg (27.51), SR (37.22) - 54M/51I
11. Neelam Bisht - RHB, RAO
Another good All Rounder that MI bagged in, represents Punjab in domestics. She had picked 10 wickets in 7 innings in Women's Senior One Day Trophy 2021/22.
Recent Form - 36r 2w, 3w, 4w, 14r 0w0w, 0w, 42r 1w, 1r 0w, 6r 0w, 11r 1w
12. Natalie Sciver Brunt - RHB, RAM
The 6th ranked All Rounder in ICC T20I rankings, 9th Ranked Batter, ex captain of England - Nat Sciver Brunt was a great auction buy for MI. She averages 26.85 in T20Is with the bat & has picked 79 wickets as well. She has a decent average of 24 with the Bat in India.
She was in hot form in World Cup where she scored 216 runs on an average of 72.
13. Amelia Kerr - RHB, Legbreak
Amelia brings a complete all round package to the MI Squad.
This spin All Rounder from New Zealand holds 3rd rank in ICC T20I All Rounders Ranking, averages 26 with the bat & has picked 58 wickets in as much innings in T20Is. She will love bowling on Indian wickets.
14. Hayley Matthews - RHB, RAO
The West Indian Captain Hayley Matthews was a true steal by MI in the auction. They got the 2nd ranked T20I All Rounder for just 40 Lakhs. She is superb top order batter who can anchor as well as accelerate the innings. She would form great pair with Amelia to lead spin attack for MI.
15. Heather Graham - RHB, RAM
A good Australian Pace All Rounder, plays for Hobart Hurricanes in Women's Big Bash League. She has huge experience of Women's Big Bash League where she averages more than 18 with the bat picking 112 wickets as well.
Made her T20I debut for Australia in December last year where she troubled Indian batters at Brabourne & DY Patil Stadium picking 7 wickets in 4 innings.
16. Chloe Tryon - RHB, LAO
Again a very good overseas All Rounder who can bat in middle/lower middle order & is capable of hitting biggies. Adds variety in the squad with left arm spin having Hayley & Amelia as Off Spin & Leg spin respectively.
17. Issy Wong - RHB, RAM
An emerging Pace Bowler from England who can come as one of the fastest Pacers in Women's Cricket if invested well. She is known for bowling with good pace & bounce and has good batting skills down the order.
STRENGTH
Complete Package of Quality All Rounders -
Mumbai Indians have successfully secured some of the top All Rounders of Women's cricket universe that include Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver Brunt & Chloe Tryon. Heather Graham is potentially no less.
More importantly all their overseas all rounders are coming of a great form & have no injury concerns as of now. Additionally, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver Brunt & Hayley Matthews can bowl complete 4 overs with top class batting in the top order. They can expect 4 overs pace bowling from Heather Graham as well + some hitting down the order. Same goes with Chloe Tryon who strengthens their middle & lower middle order with her big hits. Not only overseas, but MI has bagged in plenty of decent All Rounders from Indian Domestic Circle. They have the Indian Pace All Rounder Pooja Vastrakar who will add some crucial overs alongwith batting down the order. Amanjot Kaur - another emerging Pace all rounder from India who recently made her debut, has potential to surprise many with both bat & bowl. Not to forget, Captain Kaur can role her arms as well. However, she hasn't bowled for long in Indian Team.
Overall, their all Rounders are so worthy that they can either add extra batter or bowler to their playing 11 depending on conditions & opposition.
In Depth Batting & Short Tail
The MI batting order looks quite solid with the likes of Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver Brunt & Harmanpreet Kaur. They have Yastika Bhatia & Dhara Gujjar who can bat in top order for the team. Their lower middle order should be led by one of Chloe Tryon & Heather Graham supported by Pooja Vastrakar & Amanjot Kaur towards the end. Even all their bowlers except Sonam Yadav have potential to contribute with the bat. This massive depth in batting will allow them to bat with some lethal intent throughout the tournament.
Variety & Depth in Spin Attack -
Mumbai Indians have some serious spin attack which will be led by Amelia Kerr's legbreak, assisted by Matthews's off spin & Left Arm Spins of Chloe Tryon & Sonam Yadav - the emerging spin sensation for India who troubled opposition batters in U19 World Cup. They have another good spin all rounder in form of Saika Ishaque who has good experience of domestic circle. However, it'll be interesting how MI manages their spin all rounders in Playing XI. But, their spin attack will surely be great challenge for opposition on Indian wickets.
WEAKNESS/CHALLENGES
Concerns in deciding Batting Order -
MI has successfully bagged in quality batters in the squad. But, they will find huge difficulties in setting up the batting order keeping in mind the suitable positions for their batters. They have Hayley Matthews who generally opens in T20 Leagues as well T20Is & should be doing the same for MI. One of Yastika or Dhara Gujjar should be opening with Matthews, most likely Yastika Bhatia.
But, the real headache for team management would be no. 3, 4 & 5 with Amelia Kerr, Harmanpreet Kaur & Nat Sciver Brunt being the top contenders. All these 3 have been batting at no. 4 for their national sides. Harman had even opened up about no. 4 being her favourite batting position. Most likely, Kerr would be demoted down to no. 5 as she bats at the same position for Brisbane Heat in WBBL. They have another All Rounder Chole Tryon who has been batting at no. 4 for her national side. So, at least 2 of them will have to bat out of their comfort which may impact their batting performance.
In-Experienced & Weak Pace Attack
Mumbai Indians pace attack is likely to be led by Pooja Vastrakar who has struggled with injuries recently. The 2nd most experienced pure pace bowler is Issy Wong who has played just 9 T20Is. Heather Graham has great experience of T20 Leagues but her inclusion in playing 11 means Chloe Tryon or any other All Rounder to miss out. They do have some decent medium pace all rounders from domestics who role their arms. But, this light & in-experienced pace attack will create immense pressure on Natalie Sciver Brunt to bowl complete quota of her overs. Such over-burden might impact her performance with the bat as well.
PROBABLE XI
Hayley Matthews should open with Yastika Bhatia who opens in domestics & did the same for India in absence of Mandhana.
Nat Sciver has batted at no. 3 for England earlier. So, we expect her to bat at 3. Harman to bat at her most comfortable position no. 4 & Amelia Kerr at no. 5 as she has been doing for Brisbane Heat. Chloe Tryon might have been a better choice at 6 but siting the in-experience in pace attack Heather Graham might start as their pace all rounder. Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur & Huamira Kaazi are obvious choices at no. 7, 8 & 9 with spinners Sonam Yadav & Neelam Bisht leading their spin attack.
Yastika Bhatia
Hayley Matthews
Natalie Sciver Brunt
Harmanpreet Kaur
Amelia Kerr
Heather Graham
Pooja Vastrakar
Amanjot Kaur
Humaira Kaazi
Sonam Yadav
Neelam Bisht
EXPECTATIONS
Mumbai Indians look to have successfully assembled a balanced squad with world class batters & All Rounders. They have deep batting order consisting of anchors, accelerators & big hitters. Their spin attack has quality as well as variety. Their pace attack looks to be some in-experienced but with the likes of All Rounders like Heather Graham & Natalie Sciver Brunt they might over - shadow this weakness.
Overall, they do look a strong side and have the potential to match their performance with their men's IPL counterparts.