10 players Mumbai Indians regret letting go

The defending champions Mumbai Indians are known for their selection of core players which has helped them win the coveted trophy on four different occasions. Mumbai have a reputation for scouting young players and bringing out the best in them.

However, not all players were successful during their stay at Mumbai Indians, with some of them failing to get the nod or not being able to fire in the opportunities that were handed to them.

Here, we tale a look at the players sold by Mumbai Indians who went on to become great IPL stars for other franchises.

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#10 Moises Henriques

Henriques was part of the title-winning Hyderabad side

Born in Portugal, this Australian cricketer is an underrated all-rounder in the limited-overs format. He can provide stability to the batting line up and can chip in with a few overs as well.

He was bought by the Mumbai Indians in the 2011 IPL auction in spite of not being capped at the international level. Mumbai already had the likes of Kieron Pollard, so he couldn't figure in the starting XI. The man from Down Under was released by the Mumbai-based franchise the following year.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Henriques in the 2014 IPL auction. He played a crucial role for the franchise as they won the coveted trophy in 2016.

In the 57 games he has played in the IPL, Henriques has scored 969 runs and has taken 38 wickets. He can play the role of a finisher as well as a wicket-taking bowler.

However, he went unsold in the IPL 2018 auction. Mumbai Indians would probably have benefited from having the all-rounder it the squad.

#9 Glenn Maxwell

The Mumbai Indians bought Maxwell for 5.3 crores

Known for playing unorthodox shots with ease, Maxwell was acquired by the Mumbai Indians for a hefty sum of 5.3 crores in the 2013 IPL auction.

Despite being the most expensive player in that auction, he could not make it to the XI for most of the season. With Mumbai Indians, he only played three matches and scored 36 runs at an average of 12.

Kings XI Punjab bought the Aussie all-rounder in the 2014 IPL Auction, and he struck 552 runs at a strike rate of 187.75 in 16 matches. He led the team to the finals where they lost in a thrilling encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Currently, he is one of the most sought after T20 all-rounders in the world. After a stint with Delhi in IPL 2018, the Melbourne Stars captain will now represent Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2020.

#8 Dhawal Kulkarni

Kulkarni took 35 wickets in 33 matches for Mumbai Indians

Kulkarni, the Mumbai bowler, has been around in the domestic circuit for a long time. He has featured in the IPL since its second edition. Also, a few impressive performances earned him a national call-up. But the Mumbai pacer hasn't still proved his mettle while donning the Indian jersey.

During his tenure with Mumbai Indians till 2013, he played 33 matches where he took 36 wickets with a decent average of a little more than 23.

Kulkarni can be instrumental during the middle overs in the shortest format of the game. He is also a handy wicket-taking bowler in the powerplay overs.

The 31-year-old was traded in by the Mumbai Indians after his second stint with Rajasthan Royals. While Kulkarni was successful with the Royals and Gujarat Lions, it remains to be seen if his second stint with Mumbai will indeed bear fruit.

#7 Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav has been one of India's leading bowlers in the last year

The Mumbai Indians bought Kuldeep Yadav in the 2012 IPL auction, where he didn't feature in a single game.

Little did they know that he would become one of the consistent bowlers for the national team and would also replace the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the national limited-overs set-up.

In 2014, he was bought by KKR. Despite getting limited opportunities, he never failed and took six wickets from three matches in his first season. Since the ninth edition of the IPL, the wily spinner has been a regular in the KKR squad.

His enigmatic googly continues to be a mystery for top batsmen in the world. While Mumbai Indians tried to repurchase him in the auction, they tasted were unable to do so.

With the right opportunities, Yadav could have proved his worth to the Mumbai Indians and retained his place in the team. In hindsight, Yadav would be a player the Mumbai management would regret letting go.

#6 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey was the first Indian in the IPL to score a hundred

Hailing from Karnataka, the 30-year-old batsman was bought by the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural edition of the IPL.

The current captain of the Karnataka team has had limited chances to prove his worth in the Indian team due to the likes of Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya making the best of their opportunities.

In the second season, Pandey was sold by Mumbai Indians to the Royal Challengers Bangalore, and he made a name for himself by becoming the first Indian to score a century in the history of IPL.

The stylish right-handed batsman has now scored 2843 IPL runs in just 130 matches, at a strike rate of 120.82.

Pandey's most notable performance in an Indian shirt came against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground when he scored an unbeaten 104 as the team chased down a difficult-looking 331.

He was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping 11 crores in the 2018 IPL auction and has remained with the Hyderabad franchise since. His exceptional talent and hard-hitting abilities at the end of the innings would have served Mumbai Indians well.

#5 Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane has been one of India's consistent performers in the longest format

The Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane was bought by the Mumbai Indians in 2008 to add local flavour to their squad. The Mumbai opener, however, couldn't make much of an impact for the Mumbai Indians.

Rahane has been one of the most consistent performers for India in the longest format of the game since he debuted. The right-hander has played some crucial knocks for India, especially during India's overseas tours. He is widely regarded as India's most complete batsman.

In the IPL, Rahane generally plays as an opener. He has been very successful in giving his side quick starts and setting the foundation for the team to build on and score big.

With Mumbai, he scored only 148 runs in 10 IPL games. But it was a different story for him with Rajasthan Royals.

The fifth edition of IPL was by-far his best campaign ever. He scored a mammoth 560 runs in the 16 games and has been ever-reliable since.

The Mumbai man was bought again by Rajasthan Royals using the Right to Match card at IPL 2018 auction. Rahane was traded to Delhi Daredevils before the IPL 2020 Auction, where he will play under the captaincy of young Shreyas Iyer.

#4 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa has been a consistent player for KKR

Robin Uthappa has been one of the consistent performers since the inception of IPL. Being a highly underrated wicket-keeper batsman, he has never really been in the limelight.

Uthappa has played for various franchises which include Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Pune Warriors India and Kolkata Knight Riders.

In the 177 matches he has played so far, Uthappa has amassed 4411 runs at an average and strike rate of 28.83 and 130.50 respectively.

The Coorg-based right-hander also made history by scoring 40 or more runs in ten consecutive T20 matches. During his tenure with Mumbai Indians, he played a total of 14 games and scored 320 runs with an average and strike rate of 35.55 and 114.69 respectively.

The best time of his career was when he opened the batting for KKR. He was greatly supported by Gautam Gambhir, and their combination brought great success to the team.

Mumbai Indians have lacked a fine wicket-keeper batsman and hadn't been successful in finding one till they signed Quinton de Kock.

Their decision to sell Uthappa has indeed proved to be costly for the team, and nobody has been able to fill his shoes.

Uthappa stayed with KKR till the 2020 IPL Auction where he was bought by Rajasthan Royals.

#3 Axar Patel

Axar Patel was the only player retained by Kings XI Punjab ahead of the auctions this year

Hailing from Gujarat, this all-rounder was bought by the Mumbai Indians for the sixth edition of the IPL after impressive performances for Gujarat during the Ranji Trophy.

His ability to score quick runs with the bat and his ability to strangle the runs proves to be handy in the shortest format of the game.

In the 82 IPL games he has played so far, he has taken 71 wickets and also scored 796 runs.

During his time with Mumbai Indians, he wasn't given a good enough chance to display his skills but was substituted on and off the field due to his eye-catching fielding.

The Kings XI Punjab bought him in the 2014 IPL auction for a lump sum amount of 75 lakh, and the rest was history.

He was the only player to be retained by the Kings XI Punjab ahead of the IPL 2018 auction. Patel played for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020 before going unsold in the 2020 Auction.

#2 Dwayne Bravo

Bravo is a fan favourite at CSK

He had hardly taken a wrong step but found himself out from the Mumbai Indians set up and plying his trade for Chennai Super Kings. Even the best of batsmen have fallen prey to his slower balls.

However, with age not on his side, he has reduced playing lots of tournaments and has limited his appearances in competitions across the world. He is a fan favourite among the CSK fans who have grown fond of his celebrations.

He was bought for a bargain price of $200,000 in the 2011 IPL auction.

In the 134 matches he has played so far, he has scored 1483 runs and taken 147 wickets. This shows his magnificent all-round performances.

#1 Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal is now Kohli's go-to bowler for RCB

Haryana leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is one of the best spinners in the country right now. His googlies can hardly be read by the batsman these days.

The 29-year-old has become a regular in the Indian XI in the ODI and T20 format. During his tenure with Mumbai Indians, he wasn't given too many chances to showcase his talent before the Royal Challengers bought him in the 2015 IPL auctions.

Since then, he hasn't had to look back, and he became Virat Kohli's go-to bowler in crunch situations.

The wily leg-spinner came into the limelight when he came up with a magical spell and took 6/25 against England in the third T20I of their series in India back in 2017. This match established him in the limited-overs side.

Chahal has picked up 100 wickets in 84 matches at an average of 23.18 and an economy of 7.78 in his IPL career. A leg-spin combination of Yuzvendra Chahal and Rahul Chahar could have been incredibly successful for the Mumbai Indians team.