Ishan Kishan return leads Mumbai Indians intake

On a low-key day one of the auction for the five-time winners, bringing back Kishan 15.25 crore (£1.49 million) represents a job well done

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians were the big spenders on the opening day of the Indian Premier League mega auction after securing the return of Ishan Kishan for 15.25 crore (£1.49 million).

The 23-year-old was a key figure in MI's run to the title in 2020, scoring 516 runs at 57.33.

Though he endured a lean campaign last season his appearance in the fourth set of the auction was much-anticipated.

They faced competition from Punjab Kings and temporarily from Gujarat Titans, but Mumbai were unperturbed and ended up paying out the fourth biggest fee for a player in auction history.

Dewald Brevis, leading run-scorer from the recent Under-19 World Cup, was signed up for 3 crore (£293,456), in what looks like a shrewd additin.

In the closing stages, they added leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin for 1.6 crore (£146,715) and Basil Thampi for 30 lakhs (£29,343) as the only interested party.

^{Dewald Brevis was the leading run-scorer at the Under-19 World Cup (ICC)}

It was an otherwise quiet day for the Reliance Industries-owned franchise.

There was a clear intent to bring back players from recent successful IPL campaigns, but the pursuits of Trent Boult and Quinton de Kock both failed.

Big offers also went in for Devdutt Padikkal, Jason Holder and Mark Wood.

Day two will see the remaining 493 players go under the hammer when Mumbai will attempt to fill out their 2022 roster.

During the retain window they opted to keep captain Rohit Sharma, quicks Anrich Nortje and Jasprit Bumrah, and spinner Axar Patel.

Mumbai Indians

Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis, Basil Thampi, Murugan Ashwin