3 players who became superstars after leaving MI

One of the main reasons why the Mumbai Indians (MI) are the most successful franchises in the IPL in terms of titles won (five) is their ability to hold onto the core of the team over the years.

Mumbai are well-known for providing a family-like environment for their players and have time and again shown loyalty towards their star players even when their form seems to take a hit.

While players like Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, etc. will always be remembered as MI legends, there were a few other players who couldn't quite make an impact with the franchise. They just couldn't get consistent chances in the team due to the presence of other big players.

However, after leaving the franchise, some of them became absolute superstars in the IPL and the Mumbai Indians fans were left wondering just what they could have been had they been able to hold onto them.

On that note, let's take a look at three such players whose IPL careers took off after leaving MI:

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#3 Glenn Maxwell

Back in 2013, a young bowling all-rounder from Australia named Glenn Maxwell was making headlines in international cricket. Many tipped him to be the next big thing and naturally, he grabbed a lot of eyeballs in the IPL 2013 auction.

After a bidding war between multiple teams, the Mumbai Indians bagged his services for a whopping $1 million ( INR 5.3 crore). Many expected Maxwell to hit the ground running straight away and become one of the best players in the league.

However, the fact that MI had so many overseas superstars in their ranks, it seemed almost impossible for Maxwell to get consistent game time. He scored just 36 runs in three games for MI and was sold to the Kings XI Punjab (Punjab Kings today) the next season.

552 runs at a strike rate of 187.75 in the 2014 IPL season saw Glenn Maxwell take Punjab to the final. After a few inconsistent seasons, he was back to his best with the Royal Challengers Bangalore last year and continues to be an integral part of their side.

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#2 Jos Buttler

Not many English players used to regularly participate in the IPL before the 2016 edition. However, it all changed after their run to the 2016 T20 World Cup final as more and more players from England made themselves available for the auction.

MI picked up the services of Jos Buttler and made him a potential mainstay in the middle order alongside Kieron Pollard. Buttler did play a few handy knocks, but it was the move to send him at the top of the order that changed the fortunes of Buttler as well as Mumbai.

In 10 games that season, Buttler scored 272 runs as Mumbai lifted their third IPL crown. He showed shades of how dangerous he can be in the powerplay. Mumbai tried to buy him back in the mega auction the following year, but lost to the Rajasthan Royals.

Buttler has since been a crucial part of the Royals, even scoring a staggering 863 runs last season and taking them to the final almost single-handedly. One could only imagine the carnage if Rohit Sharma and Jos Buttler were Mumbai's long-term openers.

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#1 Dwayne Bravo

Arguably the biggest star that left the Mumbai Indians was former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. He was with the team for three seasons and it seemed like he and Kieron Pollard would be their long-term middle-order engine.

However, Bravo moved on to the Chennai Super Kings next season and created a legacy that would be extremely hard for anyone to outshine. He went on to become one of the best T20 bowlers ever and also picked up 183 wickets, the highest by any bowler in the IPL.

With Lasith Malinga being the next-best bowler in terms of wickets taken, one can only imagine if the duo bowled together for the Mumbai Indians with Jasprit Bumrah being a part of the overall pace attack.