Mumbai Indians came into the TATA WPL 2027 Auction with the lowest purse and completed their squad with all six picks being uncapped players, including Shweta Sehrawat, Disha Kasat and Latika Inamdar, among others.
Speaking on JioStar’s Match Centre Live Auction Special, Mumbai Indians’ bowling coach and mentor Jhulan Goswami discussed the franchise’s decision to go for Kiran Navgire and the importance of scouting in identifying key emerging players.
Jhulan Goswami reflecting on the franchise’s bid to get Kiran Navgire, said: “We tried our best and went as far as we could for Kiran Navgire, but unfortunately, we didn’t get her. And that’s how the auction dynamics work. She is an impactful player. So, we definitely expected quite a few teams to go after her. But at the same time, we had other options. Thankfully, we got most of the players we wanted. So, yeah, the auction was very good, and we are all very happy.”
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On Mumbai Indians’ scouting process and their base price picks, the former India player said: “Our job as a coach is to look at young players who score runs on a regular basis in domestic cricket, take wickets, bat at a good strike rate, and win matches for their team. The most important thing is: do they have that winning mindset? Because performances can be up and down, but you must have that mindset with which you can take the team ahead and make the team win. Whatever players we picked at their base price this time, they have that ability, and they have been performing quite well consistently for their state teams.
“Picking several players at base prices shows how hard our scouting team is working. And scouting is a round-the-clock process since you have to follow matches, irrespective of whether they are happening in India or outside India. And because of them, it becomes easy for us when we come to the auction table, knowing who our targets are,” she added.
On whether Mumbai Indians got all the players at the TATA WPL 2027 Auction which they wanted, she said: “I think, more or less, 95 to 97 per cent of the players we had targeted, we got them, except Kiran Navgire. We didn’t get her. But we knew it was going to be a challenge. We didn’t have the budget to go further than what we did. But all the other Indian domestic players that we had targeted, we more or less got all of them at their best prices, except Shweta Sehrawat.
“So, yeah, we are very happy with the auction. We came into this auction with the lowest purse of Rs 90 lakh, so we had to plan and prepare, keeping that challenge and accordingly different options in mind. And when you face challenging situations, your best performance comes out, both on the cricket field and off the field,” she added.
