IPL 2025: Jos Buttler Or Rishabh Pant? MI To Target These 4 Marquee Players In Mega Auction

Jos Buttler could be in MI's radar [Source: IPLT20.com]

On Friday, the IPL governing council unveiled the final list of registered players for the upcoming mega auction. The list, which initially had 1574 players, has now been trimmed to only 574 names that will go under the hammer in a two-day auction process beginning November 24. 

The marquee set of players has always been a subject of fascination in IPL mega auctions. Twelve marquee players, with a base price of INR 2 Crores, will be up for grabs in the upcoming auction. There are two separate sets, each comprising six marquee players. 

While the first set includes Jos Buttler, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh and Mitchell Starc, impactful players like Yuzvendra Chahal, Liam Livingstone, David Miller, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are placed in the second set. 

So, as the mega auction nears, let's analyse and find out which marquee players will be Mumbai Indians' prime targets. 

Jos Buttler

Why will MI target Jos Buttler?

• After releasing Ishan Kishan, Mumbai Indians are searching for an opener, preferably someone who can keep wickets as well. 
• They have a solid Indian batting core consisting of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma. Therefore, they can easily afford an overseas top-order batter. They generally focus on increasing their firepower, and there's no better option than Buttler to do that. 
• Furthermore, they have a budget of 45 crores, so instead of going after Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, whose demand will be high with multiple teams searching for a captaincy candidate, MI can bid for Buttler upto a certain extent. Although the chance of getting him at a price lower than 15 Crores is doubtful, the five-time champions can try and bid up to the 12-Cr mark. 

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Kagiso Rabada

Why will MI target Kagiso Rabada?

• After Trent Boult joined Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians struggled to find a quality overseas seamer to reduce Jasprit Bumrah's workload. Their heavy investment in an injury-prone Jofra Archer backfired on Mumbai, with the franchise compromising their bowling quality by buying players like Daniel Sams and Tymal Mills to compensate for the tactical blunder. 
• With Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh expected to breach the 10-Cr mark, MI might show interest in South African spearhead Kagiso Rabada, whose IPL stock is not as high as before. The fact that Punjab Kings preferred Nathan Ellis over him suggests the decrease in Rabada's demand in the league. 
• Having said that, the experienced pacer is still a serious threat to any top order in the world and can be a ruthless force with the ball at the seam-friendly Wankhede Stadium. 

David Miller

Why will MI target David Miller?

• Mumbai Indians haven't yet found a like-for-like replacement for their ace finisher Kieron Pollard. They invested in Tim David, but the Australian batter couldn't live up to the hype on most occasions. 
• David Miller has plenty of experience in the IPL and can be Kieron Pollard's successor. The South African cricketer is in sublime form, and he can hold MI's lower middle order together and help them win matches from crunch situations with his scintillating stroke play and calculative finishing skills. 

Yuzvendra Chahal

Why will MI target David Miller?

• Mumbai Indians generally tend to compromise with the quality of their spin bowling department. However, they might not commit a similar mistake this time, with ace spinner Yuzvendra Chahal being available in the mega auction pool. 
• Chahal is the most successful bowler in IPL history, with 205 wickets under his belt. So, considering his ability and experience, Chahal might get a chance to represent the five-time champions in the IPL 2025. 

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