Ashwin labels MI's trade of star all-rounder as 'burglary'

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that the Mumbai Indians (MI) have made a shrewd move by acquiring a dynamic all-rounder in a cash transaction worth INR 50 lakh from the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Ashwin expressed admiration for Romario Shepherd's performance during the West Indies' ODI series victory against England. He was particularly impressed by MI's astute handling of the trade involving Hardik Pandya.

In a video on his YouTube channel, the offie said, "Mumbai Indians have pulled off a burglary at LSG. Hardik Pandya is himself a well-organized planned heist like we saw in Money Heist. But Romario Shephard was a little pickpocket while walking for a breeze. I feel they have given 50 lakhs for a player on the right side of his career."

According to Ashwin, the addition of Hardik Pandya has strategically positioned MI to potentially not field four foreign players in their starting XI initially.

Ashwin envisions Romario Shepherd's probable role in the MI setup

He envisions the use of Shepherd as an impact player, seeing it as a potential game-changing move.

"Romario Shepherd has been in the IPL for two years and has not exactly lived up to his potential. However, he scored with a 150 strike rate for West Indies against England and picked a couple of players as well. Mumbai have a solid Indian core so with the impact player rule, Romario Shephard is a dangerous player."

While Romario Shepherd has only participated in four IPL matches, contributing 58 runs and claiming three wickets at a relatively high economy rate of 10.89, MI has a track record of utilizing players effectively through clever trades. Shepherd's notable performances against England suggest that Mumbai might have once again executed a successful maneuver.

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