The five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians have always prided on their ability to identify talents and giving them the extended run of opportunities. However, even the record champions have committed a few mistakes when it comes to judging the ability of a player and giving them an extended run. In this article, we will look at five cricketers who should have played more games for Mumbai Indians.
#5 Nitish Rana
Rana was part of the 2017 Mumbai Indians squad which won the tournament after a narrow victory over Rising Pune Supergiants. Rana played at number 3 or number 4 for Mumbai and impressed everyone with his composure. He played 17 matches for Mumbai and scored over 400 runs at a strike rate of 128.
Mumbai Indians opted not to retain him since they valued Krunal Pandya’s all-round ability more. KKR snatched him up and Rana has served them well in the past three seasons.
#4 Dinesh Karthik
Karthik played his first three seasons for Delhi Daredevils and was picked up by Mumbai before the 2012 IPL. He could not make a huge impact in his first season at Mumbai but played a pivotal role in 2013 as Mumbai lifted the trophy. Karthik was Mumbai’s second-highest run-getter in that season with 510 runs at a strike rate of 125.
Mumbai, unfortunately, could not retain him for the next season due to the mega auction. Karthik spent the next few seasons at several clubs before finally settling at KKR where he has found a consistent spot in the playing eleven. Karthik has scored over nine hundred runs for KKR at a healthy strike rate of 144.
#3 Yuzvendra Chahal
Before he became the leader of RCB’s bowling attack, Chahal was part of the Mumbai Indians squad but played just only a game in 2013. Of all the franchises, it was Mumbai Indians who failed to find any spark in Yuzi Chahal
Chahal’s presence could have made Mumbai Indians simply invincible as they already have the best bowling attack in the tournament. Chahal has 122 wickets to his name in an RCB shirt and is set to be retained by his franchise ahead of the 2022 IPL.
#2 Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo and Lasith Malinga bowling in tandem at their prime could have been a sight for the ages. Bravo represented Mumbai Indians in the first three seasons of the IPL and picked up 27 wickets. But the presence of legends such as Shaun Pollock restricted Bravo’s overs and he also did not make a huge impact with the bat.
But the move to Chennai Super Kings in 2011 was a turning point in his career as he became a brilliant death bowler during his time at Chepauk. He also noticeably improved as a batsman and often played crucial cameos down the order.
#1 Jos Buttler
When Mumbai used their RTM for Pollard instead of Buttler in the 2018 auction, it was quite a surprise to many fans and experts. Buttler was regarded as one of the best white-ball players in the world and Pollard was going through a bad phase with the national team.
Buttler also fulfilled the role of a wicket-keeper batsman and could have formed a deadly opening combo with Rohit Sharma. But Mumbai’s faith in Pollard was re-paid while RR has benefitted from the services of Jos Buttler.
