NEW DELHI: Former Australia all-rounder and current Delhi Capitals assistant coach Shane Watson has slammed Mumbai Indians for spending over Rs 15 crore on Ishan Kishan in the IPL auction, saying the talented opener was "not worth blowing nearly your whole salary on". Watson also criticised MI for buying injured Jofra Archer for a huge sum.
Winless so far in five matches, MI has been struggling to put together a winning combination after they spent Rs 15.25 crore to get Ishan and Rs 8 crore to buy Jofra Archer, who is still recovering from elbow surgery.
The five-time champions had retained Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard. "It hasn't surprised me that Mumbai Indians are at the bottom of the table because they had a shocking auction," Watson said during a conversation in 'The Grade Cricketer' podcast.
"Spending so much money on Ishan Kishan...He is a very talented and skillful player, but he's not worth blowing nearly your whole salary on. And then, going for Jofra Archer, not knowing whether he is going to come back in. He hasn't played cricket for quite a while. They have got quite a few holes in the team," he said.
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings too endured four losses before opening their account with a 23 run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. "The biggest issue with CSK, now that I have seen their five games, is that they have got a hole, especially with their fast bowling," Watson, who has played for CSK in the IPL, said.
"In the previous years, they had Shardul Thakur. Deepak Chahar is injured. They paid a lot for him at the auction, but he is (likely to be) unavailable for a lot of the tournament, which is a big hole. They don't have a quality overseas quick like Josh Hazlewood. Earlier, they always had a world-class overseas quick bowler. That's why they are struggling," he added.