Mumbai Indians' 2008 IPL Team: Where are they now?

The Mumbai Indians are enjoying a dream run at the moment and have reached the IPL finals for the fourth time in their career after defeating the Kolkata Knight Riders in the second qualifier on May 19 in Bangalore.

Unlike previous seasons where they started off really slowly, they did not disappoint this year. They finished on top of the table and will now take on rivals Rising Pune Supergiant in the final in Hyderabad.

However, things looked quite different back in 2008 during the IPL’s inaugural season. There were a lot of different players and Mumbai did not achieve as much success as they did in the years after that.

Let’s take a look at Mumbai Indians’ 2008 IPL squad and where are they now:

Sachin Tendulkar was the icon player for the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural season of 2008. He did not have too much of T20 experience coming into the tournament. He even missed half of the season due to a groin injury he had picked up prior to the tournament.

He played 7 matches and managed to score 188 runs at an average of 31.33 with one half-century to his name. However, he went on to play an integral role in their success in the years to come and was a part of the winning squad of 2013.

He is currently the mentor of the Mumbai Indians and is seen at the stadium in all of MI’s home matches. He has been involved with a lot of sports and social causes post retirement and his biopic is also set to release on May 26th, 2017.

Uthappa began his IPL career with MI

Sanath Jayasuriya was one of the most explosive batsmen in the world and was the best batsman for the Mumbai Indians in the 2008 edition of the tournament.

He featured in all the matches and was the highest run-getter for Mumbai that year with 514 runs in 14 innings at an average of above 40. He continued to play for them until 2010 after which he retired.

In October 2013, he was appointed as deputy minister of Postal services in the UPFA government.In 2015, he was appointed as the chairman of selectors for Sri Lanka cricket.

Robin Uthappa had already made a mark for himself by the time the IPL came around. An exciting young prospect back in 2008, Uthappa did not fail to disappoint as he was the second highest run-getter for MI.

He managed to score 320 runs in 14 matches at an average of 35.55. Unfortunately, he did not manage a single half-century.

He currently plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and was one of the leading run-scorers in the IPL 2017.

Dwayne Smith began his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians before moving to the Chennai Super Kings and then the Gujarat Lions.

He enjoyed reasonable success with Mumbai in the few years that he played with them. However, he hardly played in the first edition getting only 4 matches under his belt.

He currently plays for the Gujarat Lions in the IPL. He also holds the distinction of being the second highest run-getter in the playoff matches.

Pollock was the coach of the Mumbai Indians

Abhishek Nayar was one of only four players who managed to play all the 14 matches for Mumbai in their first season.

He provided a lot of useful contributions with the bat for the first few years of his IPL career and he was even included in India’s squad to take on West Indies back in 2012-13. Unfortunately, he soon faded away and has not featured in a single game since 2015.

He continues to play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and is fighting to make a comeback to the IPL.

Shaun Pollock was one of the best bowlers in the world and arguably the greatest South African pacer till date along with the likes of Alan Donald and Dale Steyn.

He played a big role in Mumbai’s 2008 season having played in 13 out of the 14 matches. He picked up 11 wickets with an exceptional economy rate of 6.54.

2008 was the first and last season Pollock featured in the IPL after which he retired from the game. He was the coach for the Mumbai Indians for a couple of seasons as well.

Manish Pandey was a relatively unknown figure back in 2008. He had just come off India’s historic win in the 2008 U-19 world cup under Virat Kohli’s captaincy.

He hardly got a chance to make a mark for himself in the first season having played only 3 matches for MI. He rose to prominence in 2009 where he became the first Indian to score a century in the IPL for RCB.

He currently plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He was included in India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 but was forced to pull out due to an injury he picked up during the IPL.

Dhawal Kulkarni enjoyed a lot of success with MI

Ajinkya Rahane too was relatively unknown back in 2008 and played in only 2 matches for Mumbai back then. He found success in the IPL only once he left MI for Rajasthan Royals in 2010.

He made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2011 and is one of the most important members of the side, especially in the longer format of the game. He is the vice-captain of the side as well.

He currently plays for the Rising Pune Supergiant and his T20 form has come under scrutiny over the past couple of years.

Dhawal Kulkarni was one of the most prominent youngsters in the first edition of the IPL. He made a big mark for himself as he proved to be immensely successful for Mumbai in the tournament.

He featured in 10 matches and picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 8. He played for Mumbai until 2013 after which was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals in 2014 and then moved on to the Gujarat Lions last year.

He currently plays for the Lions in the IPL and is one of the best bowlers for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. He has also played for

Dilhara Fernando was one of Sri Lanka’s best ODI bowlers and had an elongated career with the Lions. He made his debut for Sri Lanka way back in 2000 and was last seen playing for Sri Lanka in 2016 against India when he made a comeback after three years.

He featured in only 5 matches for Mumbai in 2008 and picked up 10 wickets with an economy rate of 8.

He still continues to play cricket and is looking to make a comeback to the Sri Lankan squad.

Bhajji has been with MI since 2008

Ashish Nehra is one of the few cricketers from the 1990s who continues to play in the IPL. A veteran of the game, he just seems to get better with age.

He began his career with the Mumbai Indians where he achieved reasonable success playing all the 14 matches for them and picking up 12 wickets too.

He went on to play for the Chennai Super Kings after his stint with Mumbai and then was picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016 where he achieved IPL glory.

He continues to play for them and also for the Indian T20 international side as well. He is currently recovering from an injury he picked up during the tournament.

Ankeet Chavan

One of the few cricketers who did not play a single game for the Mumbai Indians back in 2008, Ankeet Chavan did not feature in IPL after that until 2012 where he was bought by the Rajasthan Royals.

His career came to a standstill when was acquitted in the 2013 spot-fixing scandal along with Rajasthan Royals teammates S Sreesanth and Ajit Chandala. He was arrested and later released on bail during which he got married too.

In 2015, he was given a clean chit by the BCCI and was cleared of all charges.

Dwayne Bravo is arguably the greatest ever T20 bowlers but was known more for his batting than his bowling back in 2008.

He featured in 9 matches for MI in 2008 where he performed decently well with the bat and the ball. He was even the captain for one match for Mumbai during his IPL career. However, he proved to be a lot more successful with the Chennai Super Kings having won the title with them on two occasions.

He is currently a part of the Gujarat Lions franchise but did not play a single game this season due to an injury.

Harbhajan Singh

One of the very few players who have only played for one franchise throughout their IPL career, Harbhajan Singh has achieved a lot of success with the Mumbai Indians. Unfortunately, he played only 3 games for them in 2008 after which he was banned due to his altercation with Sreesanth after their loss against KXIP on April 28, 2008.

He is one of the best spinners to have come out of the Indian ranks and has had a long career with the Men in Blue.

He played a big role in Mumbai’s success this year too and will be looking to make another comeback to the Indian cricket team.

Check RCB Squad 2024 Details. Follow Sportskeeda for IPL 2024 Live Score, Schedule, Points Table

Quick Links

Edited by Staff Editor