10 Players you might not know were part of Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians are one of the most successful franchises in the IPL. They have won the coveted trophy thrice. The key to their success is the number of great players they’ve had in their arsenal. Superstars like Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Lasith Malinga, and Mitchell McClenaghan have all contributed to MI’s success over the years. While they have had players who have become synonymous with their franchise, they’ve had some players who may not be remembered for their time with the team. This could be due to the fact that they either left the team before making an impact or they just never got a chance to showcase their talent.

Here, we take a look at those 10 Players whom we might not know were part of Mumbai Indians.

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#10 Luke Ronchi

Luke Ronchi failed to make use of his opportunities in IPL

Luke Ronchi made his IPL debut with the Mumbai Indians in 2008 and stayed with the franchise till 2009. In his debut season, he opened the batting in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and scored a total of 32 runs in four matches at a poor strike-rate of 110.34. He was soon dropped from the playing XI and we didn’t get to see him again until next season.

In 2009, he didn’t get many chances to play either. He played a single game for them and remained unbeaten on zero. Again, he was dropped from the playing XI in the following match. This was his game in the IPL and never took part in the tournament again.

#9 Axar Patel

Axar Patel shined with Kings XI Punjab

Axar Patel was purchased at the 2013 IPL auctions by Mumbai Indians. However, since Mumbai Indians already had a prominent spinner (Harbhajan Singh), they couldn’t make much use of Axar Patel and he was released from his contract the following year without even playing a single game.

He was then picked up at the auctions by Kings XI Punjab. It was with KXIP that he made his IPL debut. He went on to play an important role with bat and ball for them. He has scored 686 runs and took 61 wickets in 63 matches for them. He consistently featured in their playing XI till 2018.

#8 Phil Hughes

Phil Hughes did not play a single game of MI

Phil Hughes’ IPL journey never really took off even though he was part of the Mumbai Indians team in 2013. He was a part of their team for a single season and was released the following year without even playing a single game. In 2014, the cricket fraternity lost one of its favorite players when Phil Hughes passed away while he was struck on the neck by a raising ball during the Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and New South Wales. His untimely demise meant that we would never see him bat again.

#7 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane shined with Rajasthan Royals

Ajinkya Rahane bears a slight resemblance to Rahul David. Both of them has similar batting styles and aren’t famous for their aggressive batting. That was quite evident when Rahane was picked to be part of the Mumbai Indians team in 2008. He played with MI for three seasons and scored just 148 runs in 10 matches.

After being released from his contract, he was purchased by Rajasthan Royals in 2011. Initially, he batted in the middle order for the Royals, but it soon became evident that he wasn’t apt for batting in the middle order. He was promoted to open the batting.

He formed a formidable duo with Rahul Dravid opening the batting. Their similar batting styles complimented each other perfectly and this propelled Rahane’s career into T20 stardom.

Rahane is currently the 11th highest run scorer in the tournament’s history with 3427 runs to his name.

#6 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey made his IPL debut for the Mumbai Indians in 2008 but managed to get just three matches to prove himself. He failed to make a mark with his limited opportunities and was axed the following year.

This turned out to be a big mistake for Mumbai Indians as Manish Pandey went on to score a blistering century for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009. He played with RCB for a few more years before being released from his contract. He went on to play for a few more franchises like Pune Warriors India, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Pandey has always been the underrated middle order batsman that teams relied on during the backend of the innings. He is often proved himself to be dependable when his team needs him the most. He is one of those rare breeds of cricketers who possesses the ability to rotate the strike and score aggressively based on the situation.

#5 Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra stared with CSK in 2015

Just like many players on this list, Ashish Nehra started his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians. The retired fast bowler was already a renowned bowler when he joined MI. In fact, it could be argued that he was brought in to breathe a little bit of fire into MI’s bowling lineup. He performed decently with the ball picking up 11 wickets in 14 games.

However, his form picked up when he moved on to play for other teams. In fact, he had his best year in the IPL in 2015 when he picked up 22 wickets in 16 games for the Chennai Super Kings. He just missed out on winning the purple cap by a whisker. He is also the 10th highest wicket-taker in the tournament’s history with 105 wickets from 88 games at an average of 23.42.

Currently, Nehra is enjoying his new role as the bowling coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore.

#4 Dilhara Fernando

Dilhara Fernando failed to make a bigger impact in IPL

Dilhara Fernando had a reputation of being a lethal wicket-taker before his arrival in the IPL. There was a lot of anticipation surrounding his debut. While he didn’t feature in the playing XI during the initial stages of the tournament, he finally got a chance to play against Kolkata Knight Riders. His debut wasn’t memorable as he picked up just one wicket and conceded 41 runs. However, this was MI’s first win in the IPL.

The fast bowler's next match followed a similar story and he picked up just 2 wickets for 38 runs in his 4 overs. However, a couple of games later he picked up his best bowling figures of 4/18 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

He ended the season with 10 wickets from five games. He didn’t feature again in their playing XI until 2010 when he picked up seven wickets from five games. This was also the last time he played for them despite staying with the franchise for another year.

#3 Dwayne Bravo

Dwayne Bravo, the poster boy of CSK

Dwayne Bravo has become so synonymous with the Chennai Super Kings that it’s almost impossible to picture him playing for any other team. In fact, he made his IPL debut with the Mumbai Indians.

He played with them for three seasons (2008-2010). In his first season, he performed quite well with bat and ball. He scored 154 runs in 9 matches and even scored one half-century. With the ball, he scalped 11 wickets in 9 games.

When he returned to MI in 2009, his performances improved. He scored 218 runs in 11 matches with two half-centuries. It was then that he scored his highest IPL score. He also took 11 wickets in 11 matches. However, one poor season in 2010 led to his release.

Post his release, he went on to play for Chennai Super Kings where he became one of their most consistent performers over the years. He won the Orange Cap twice. He is currently the fourth highest wicket-taker in the IPL and can be expected to top this list quite soon.

#2 Kuldeep Yadav

MI will regret letting Kuldeep leave

Kuldeep Yadav is currently one of India’s best spinners in the limited overs format. He rose to prominence ever since he made his IPL debut for Kolkata Knight Riders. But before he played for KKR, he was once part of the Mumbai Indians dugout. He was picked up by MI in the 2012 auction. However, he never played a single game for them and was released from his contract the following year.

That wasn’t the end for Kuldeep as he was picked up in the 2014 auctions by Kolkata Knight Riders where he has become one of their most dependable bowlers.

#1 Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal proved MI that he is much a better bowler than they think

Yuzvendra Chahal’s story is similar to Kuldeep Yadav’s. Chahal was first picked up at the 2011 IPL auctions by the Mumbai Indians. He stayed with the franchise for three seasons, but he never played a single game for them. After being released from his contract, he went on to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore where he has become their most consistent bowler. Chahal has proved himself more than capable of picking up wickets at crucial moments of the match. His spread his success in the International arena too where he is one of India’s frontline spinners.