The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) are two of the most successful teams in the history of the Indian Premier League. Between them, the two franchises have eight championship triumphs. CSK was the first to win two consecutive seasons. MI recently matches that feat. Both teams have great captains, namely MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.
The CSK vs MI rivalry is called the El Clasico of IPL. CSK created a unique record of qualifying for the playoffs in the ten consecutive seasoned they appeared in. Meanwhile, Mumbai has won five IPL trophies. It is the dream of every player to play for either MI or CSK in the tournament. Many players have even represented both teams, and here’s a best XI of those cricket stars.
Openers – Dwayne Smith and Michael Hussey
Dwayne Smith is a former West Indies all-rounder. He recently played in the Road Safety World Series. Smith was a match-winner for MI. He opened the innings with Sachin Tendulkar. In all, Smith played 24 matches for Mumbai, scoring 620 runs at an average of 31. He scored 965 runs in 32 innings for CSK.
Michael Hussey is a former Orange Cap winner. He played most of his IPL matches for CSK. Hussey aggregated 1,768 runs for the team, with his average being 42.10. Surprisingly, CSK released Mr Cricket, and then MI signed him. In the only season he played for Mumbai, Hussey managed 209 runs in nine innings.
Middle Order – Parthiv Patel (wk), Ambati Rayudu, and Robin Uthappa
The middle order of this team consists of three Indian batsmen. Parthiv Patel will keep the wickets for this team. Patel is one of the few players to have won the IPL trophy with both MI and CSK. He will have Robin Uthappa’s company in this unit’s middle order. Uthappa played the inaugural season for MI and is now a part of the Chennai Super Kings.
Ambati Rayudu started his career with MI. He played over 100 matches for the team, aggregating 2,416 runs at a strike rate of 126.16. Later, he switched to CSK. So far, Rayudu has played three seasons for the Super Kings. He has so far aggregated 1,243 runs for Chennai at an average of 35.51.
All-rounders – Dwayne Bravo and Jacob Oram
Only six Indian players have played for both MI and CSK in the IPL. Hence, the four overseas players rule cannot be followed for this XI. The two all-rounders of this team will be Dwayne Bravo and Jacob Oram. Both players are pace-bowling all-rounders. Oram won the IPL with MI in 2013, while Bravo won the title with CSK in 2011 and 2018.
Oram played only one match for Mumbai, but he bowled a decent spell of 0/22 in four overs. The Kiwi all-rounder represented CSK 15 times, aggregating 106 runs and picking up eight wickets. Bravo is one of the few overseas players to have captained MI. Meanwhile, he has also won the Purple Cap award. Bravo has done well with the bat as well for Chennai.
Bowlers – Ashish Nehra, Karn Sharma, Tim Southee, and Harbhajan Singh
Ashish Nehra and Tim Southee will lead the pace attack of this playing XI. Southee is the vice-captain of New Zealand right now. He played for CSK in 2011, while he was a member of the MI squad in 2016 and 2017. Ashish Nehra started his IPL career with MI. Later, he played for CSK in 2014 and 2015, a stint that helped him return to Team India.
The two spinners of this XI will be Karn Sharma and Harbhajan Singh. Karn was a match-winner for MI in 2017. His performance in the playoffs was superb, while he won the title with CSK in 2018. Harbhajan Singh was the captain of MI in 2012. He played ten seasons for Mumbai before shifting to CSK in 2018.
Best XI comprising players who have been a part of both CSK and MI
Dwayne Smith, Michael Hussey, Parthiv Patel (wk), Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, DJ Bravo, Jacob Oram, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Karn Sharma, and Ashish Nehra.
