Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 10 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund said that Mumbai Indians (MI) will need an Indian wicketkeeper-batter ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027 auctions, claiming that the lack of one caused the team to play Tilak Varma down the order and not play all-rounders Sherfane Rutherford and Will Jacks together in the playing XI. 

During the 2026 IPL edition, MI had two South African wicketkeeping options in their squad, Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock. Rickelton scored 448 runs in 12 innings at an average of 40.72, with a strike rate of 186.66, including a century and two fifties. Kock, who reunited with MI for the first time after 2021 after being sold for Rs 1 crore, featured in three matches, scoring 132 runs, including a century. 

Speaking on JioStar's 'Game Plan', JioStar expert Mukund said, 'If he (Hardik Pandya) does go to another side, I would think it should be a win-win for all parties involved. If you are talking about Mumbai Indians, the only thing, according to me, that was missing was an Indian wicketkeeper in there. That was a big miss for them because, in their top seven, they had to play either Ryan Rickelton or Quinton de Kock. I know Rickelton is in great form, but that pushes Tilak down; it does not give you the option to play both Sherfane Rutherford and Will Jacks. So, it was a bit of a confusing scenario to fit in an overseas spinner plus an overseas wicketkeeper within the quota of four overseas players. Does that solve the problem if Hardik Pandya goes out?'

Speaking on releasing Quinton, he said that he would opt to release him to free up an overseas player slot. 

'I know he was not an expensive buy, but I would release Quinton de Kock for the sole reason of just freeing up overseas cap space, in case you need someone else. So, in case there is a necessity for somebody else, and not a wicketkeeper-opening batter, then you'll have a free spot. Then it also depends on who comes in the Hardik trade. So, based on that, if you need space for an extra overseas player, I would release him,' he added. 

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027 mini-auction will take place in Goa on December 16, with the day-long event scheduled on the same day as the second One-Day International (ODI) between India and Sri Lanka in Bengaluru, according to Cricinfo. The auction will be held nearly a month after the retention deadline of November 15, which the IPL has communicated to the franchises. (ANI)