Former Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund has advised Mumbai Indians (MI) to acquire an Indian wicketkeeper-batter ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027 auctions. He argued that MI’s lack of a domestic wicketkeeper-batter in the previous season led to challenges in team selection, including playing Tilak Varma lower in the order and not fielding all-rounders Sherfane Rutherford and Will Jacks simultaneously.

In the 2026 IPL edition, MI included two South African wicketkeepers 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 half-centuries. De Kock, who rejoined MI after being sold for Rs 1 crore, played three matches, amassing 132 runs including a century.

Speaking on JioStar’s ‘Game Plan’, 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?”

Mukund also addressed the possibility of MI releasing Quinton de Kock. He stated, “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.”

The IPL 2027 mini-auction is scheduled to take place in Goa on December 16, coinciding with the second One-Day International (ODI) between India and Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. This event will occur nearly a month after the player retention deadline on November 15, which the IPL has communicated to franchises.