IPL 2019: Top 5 wicket takers for Mumbai Indians in IPL history

Mumbai Indians is one of the most successful teams in the IPL. The franchise has won the title three times, which is the joint highest. The team has always been filled with superstars of T20 cricket. In the initial years, legendary players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock starred for the Indians. While T20 heavyweights like Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have taken the team to new heights in recent years.

Mumbai Indians have also benefited from the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. The destructive opening batsman has led the side brilliantly over the years.

Even though Mumbai Indians have been a batting heavy side, the role of bowlers in the team's success has been extremely vital. Mumbai Indians' bowlers have delivered for them in crunch situations, winning a lot of matches for the team.

We will look at 5 Mumbai Indians bowlers who have performed consistently over the years and are the top 5 wicket takers for the team in IPL history.

#5 Kieron Pollard - 56 wickets

Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard has been a vital cog for Mumbai Indians since his debut for the franchise in 2010. Even though Pollard is known more for his hard hitting batting, he has regularly chipped in with his effective bowling too.

The Trinidadian might not have been used regularly by Rohit Sharma in the last couple of years, but there was a time when he was played as a proper all-rounder. In the first four years of his IPL career, Pollard took 51 wickets with a best of 4 for 44. Unfortunately, he started proving to be too expensive with the ball lately and is now played as a proper batsman.

#4 Jasprit Bumrah - 63 wickets

Jasprit Bumrah

When Jasprit Bumrah made his IPL debut in 2013, not many gave him a chance. Bumrah had an awkward action and it was believed that Mumbai Indians had made a huge mistake by selecting him in the first place. But since then the youngster has gone from strength to strength and is now one of the best fast bowlers of World Cricket.

Bumrah did struggle a little in his early days but has mastered the yorkers and is one of the toughest bowlers to face in the death overs. The last 3 years have been highly fruitful for the 25-year-old as he picked up 15, 20 and 17 wickets in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively. Apart from picking up wickets, Bumrah has also been extremely economical. He bowled with an excellent economy of 6.88 runs per over in 2018.

Bumrah is in a rich vein of form and Mumbai Indians will be expecting big things from the speedster in IPL 2019.

#3 Mitchell McClenaghan - 68 wickets

Mitchell McClenaghan

One name in the list that will surprise most is Mitchell McClenaghan. The Kiwi seamer, who made his Mumbai Indians debut in 2015, has picked up 68 wickets in just 51 matches that he has played for the team. McClenaghan was instrumental in Mumbai Indians' title triumph in 2017 where he got 19 scalps in just 14 matches. Despite this phenomenal numbers he wasn't retained or bought by Mumbai Indians at the 2018 auction.

However, the 32-year-old was called in as a replacement for Jason Behrendorff and played 11 matches in IPL 2018. Despite having a high economy rate of 8.54, Rohit Sharma has often backed McClenaghan as he possesses the ability to provide breakthroughs at crucial junctures of the match. The left-arm seamer is very dangerous with the new ball as he has the pace that can put the batsman in a spot of bother.

#2 Harbhajan Singh - 127 wickets

Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh played 136 matches for Mumbai Indians, which is the most by any player. Harbhajan was an integral part of the Mumbai Indians setup and even captained the franchise in 2012. The ace India off spinner was highly consistent with the ball too and was his captain's go-to bowler, especially in the middle overs. His IPL career economy of just over 7, in a career spanning 11 years, is testimony to his temperament as a bowler.

Apart from containing the batsmen, Harbhajan has also picked up important wickets at key moments of the game. The willy old fox has 127 wickets to his name in Mumbai Indians colours. He has outfoxed many quality batsmen by using his skills and experience. Harbhajan's time with Mumbai Indians finally came to an end when he was released by the franchise before the 2018 auction. He was then bought by Chennai Superkings who went on to win the championship.

#1 Lasith Malinga - 154 wickets

Lasith Malinga

154 wickets in 110 matches with an impressive average of 19.01 and an outrageous economy of 6.86 runs per over, these are numbers that make Lasith Malinga unarguably the best fast bowler in IPL history. Malinga has had his troubles with injuries in the past because of which he has missed quite a few matches for the Mumbai Indians. But he still remains to be the highest wicket-taker in the IPL.

The Sri Lankan has bailed out Mumbai Indians from tricky situations umpteen number of times. Malinga has a lot of variations at his disposal. Apart from his ability of bowling pinpoint yorkers, Malinga also uses the slower balls to good effect. His variations makes him a tough bowler to handle, especially in death overs.

Unfortunately, there was a dip in Malinga's form in 2017 which resulted in him going unsold at the 2018 auction. However, he was once again bought by Mumbai Indians at the auction for IPL 2019 because of his impressive comeback in international cricket in 2018.