Mumbai Indians went on to buy seven players in the IPL auction for the upcoming IPL season. A total of 11.70 CR was spent by MI.

Kiwi pacer, Adam Milne, was Mumbai Indians’ first buy in the auction. The right-arm pacer was acquired for 3.2 CR. He will join New Zealand teammate Trent Boult in the MI squad.

It was also a homecoming for Nathan Coulter-Nile, who had been a part of the 2020 IPL winning team. The Aussie pacer fetched 5 CR in the auction and was also a part of the playing XI in the final game against Delhi Capitals.

MI also roped in the services of leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. He has the third-highest wicket tally in IPL with 156 scalps to his name and was bought for 3.2 CR.

Mumbai Indians acquired James Neesham at his base price of 50 Lakhs. The all-rounder has garnered a lot of accolades for his proficiency with the bat and ball. Neesham will now look to prove his credentials in the shortest format for MI. He will join the ranks of other power-hitters like Hardik and Pollard in the squad.

Yudhvir Charak was brought by MI for his base price of 20 Lakhs. The all-rounder was one of the support players in the squad for IPL 2020. Yudhvir will be raring to prove his mettle at the big stage after having spent ample time at the camp last season.

An unknown commodity for many, Marco Jansen was bought by MI for 20 Lakhs. The Proteas cricketer who is just 20-years-old is a left-arm pacer who can also make valuable contributions with the bat.

Arjun Tendulkar, who was the last name to go up in the auction was also bought for his base price of 20 Lakhs. The all-rounder was a part of the MI support squad in IPL 2020. He also played for Mumbai at the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Owner of Mumbai Indians, Akash Ambani, Director of Cricket Operations, Zaheer Khan, and Head Coach, Mahela Jayawardene spoke in detail at the MI Post-Match Auction Press Conference.

Zaheer Khan: We have a good balance of experience and youth

"It's a complete pace attack. We have a good balance of experience and youth. We were actually surprised to get Marco Jansen for 20 Lakhs. We expected a bidding war. We all know how difficult it is to lift the IPL trophy. As a support staff, we try to give players all the freedom to express themselves.”

“Neesham is someone who’s got capabilities of any good all-rounder. It’s always about timing, and always about getting the chance to prove yourself. You have someone like Maxwell for whom the numbers don’t really justify but still had everyone excited and going around so strong. I feel Neesham has the capabilities to better him.”

Mahela Jayawardene: James Neesham has a lot of potential

“We feel that James Neesham has potential. He's going to be a number six power hitter for us as a backup for Polly. It gives us good options to fall back to."

“Jimmy has great potential and he has played good cricket. You could have a bad season but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad player. He’s going to be that number six power hitter for us as a backup for Polly. So we have enough time to work with him and get his best during the season. Like Zak and Akash said, we are trying to do is add value and experience to the team, and add guys who are part of international cricket. It gives us good options to fall back to if we need and on top of that, he’s a left-hander, so that’s a plus.”

Akash Ambani: We hope we will be able to unearth the talent this year

“We’ve been having an international scout program put in place in the last few years like we’ve had an Indian scout program. Marcos Jansen has been a name that we’ve tracked for the last two years. Relatively young in age, this year he was in the test squad going to Pakistan. So we had a word with Quinny (Quinton de Kock) and he said, ‘you have to go for him, he’s completely ready now.’ What he brings to the table is that he’s a 6’8” left-arm fast bowler who swings the new ball and can bat a bit at number eight. With Mahela and Zak’s support and the whole support staff team, we’ll be able to unearth their potential this year.”

“Arjun has a beautiful skill set. He's a left-arm fast bowler and can bat. There are not many of those in world cricket. But it's very important that his process and his progression happens as any young cricketer. Fortunately at MI, we help individuals reach their potential. It's all on their hard work, but we have the environment to do that and hopefully, we can see Arjun reach his potential in the coming years like many other youngsters.”