The franchise has been regarded to have scouted a lot of youngsters.
Mumbai Indians, the five-time IPL champions, are regarded as one of the best scouting teams in the 18-year history of the league. This season, the Mumbai Indians target sheet might spring another surprise when the teams meet at the
The Mumbai Indians target list is set to feature Akshat Raghuwanshi, a 22-year-old batter from Madhya Pradesh who is coming up the ranks in domestic cricket. The youngster is a top-order batter and has lit up the Madhya Pradesh T20 League, making his name in the cricketing circuit. As per reports, Raghuwanshi was called by the five-time IPL champions for trials ahead of the auction.
Akshat Raghuwanshi plays for the Indore Pink Panthers in Madhya Pradesh’s T20 tournament. He is known for his aggressive display of batting, which came to the fore when he scored a humongous 105 runs off just 45 deliveries against the Bhopal Leopards. To add to that, the Mumbai Indians target player scored 277 runs in just four innings in the league, with a strike rate of 177.
Considering his talent and the exploits in local tournaments, many teams that require an aggressive opener would be after Raghuwanshi. Franchises like Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who have a huge purse to spend, have a real chance of having a crack at the youngster. Whether they would like to do so or not would be completely up to their plans.
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To start with, the Mumbai Indians target sheet cannot have the most expensive players who would go under the hammer. The five-time IPL champions have a purse of INR 2.75 crore, which would not allow them to raise their hands for most of the players. However, what they can do is play it smart and invest in some promising talent.
And that is exactly what the franchise looks to be after in the IPL 2026 auction. The Mumbai Indians target list is expected to feature Kartik Sharma, the youngster from Rajasthan who is doing the rounds on social media for his exemplary performances in domestic cricket. But again, most of the teams are expected to bid for him, considering he bats in the middle order.
MI do not need a middle-order batter in terms of their combination. However, they could get their hands on a player like Akshat Raghuwanshi. The franchise has been regarded as one of the finest in terms of scouting talent and developing players into bigger roles at bigger stages of the game. The fact that they have shown interest in Raghuwanshi would be enough to prove their interest in the player.
The 22-year-old has played 29 games at the domestic level, all formats included, and has scored a total of around 700 runs. Though his First-class numbers do not speak a lot about his game, his stats in the franchise league competitions hold the key to his success and fame amongst the masses. His ability to bat aggressively at the top of the order is what will attract the Mumbai Indians towards him.
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