Chopra believes that the Mumbai Indians will struggle to find an equal replacement for Jasprit Bumrah in IPL 2023, as he has been ruled out due to a back injury. The former cricketer has suggested some names who could fill the gap in their squad; however, it remains to be seen if they can provide the same performance level.
In his YouTube video, he pointed out that without Jasprit Bumrah and Jhye Richardson, the Mumbai Indians would be in a difficult situation and explained this further.
“Both Jhye Richardson and Jasprit Bumrah will not be available. The simple thing is that you won’t get anyone like Jasprit Bumrah. There is no replacement available, whatever you might do. There is no one in the entire world, so how will you find one in India?”
The ex-cricketer-turned-commentator remarked that the 5 times-winning team were in an absence of Indian seam bowlers, mentioning:
“The fast bowling was slightly weak in any case. They didn’t keep Indian fast bowlers at all. Jaydev Unadkat and Basil Thampi used to be there, but they were shown the exit door. So they didn’t have Indian fast bowlers and couldn’t shop for them either.”
“It is damn unfortunate if you are a Mumbai Indians fan or the franchise owner or associated with them. You were desperate to see the pairing of Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah, but something else was acceptable to the universe.”
Mumbai Indians bought the England pacer Archer for eight crore rupees for the IPL 2022 tournament, which he could not participate in. However, Archer is now likely to be available for the tournament’s next edition. Unfortunately, Bumrah’s injury has created a hurdle for Mumbai Indians.
MI’s squad needs Indian pacers – Aakash Chopra
Chopra believes it is essential for the Mumbai Indians to seek out Indian fast bowlers, citing the need to find success on the home field and their potential future matches in Bangalore. He then went on to suggest a few seamers who may be able to take over for Bumrah’s position.
“Varun Aaron – who was released by Gujarat Titans and doesn’t have a team currently. Sandeep Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ankit Rajpoot, and Basil Thampi also don’t have a team. I can remember only these four or five names. I don’t see any other names apart from them.”