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Five Famous cricketers whose IPL career ended at Mumbai Indians

When the Indian Premier League first began in 2008, Mumbai Indians had a stellar bunch of players, many of them were the legends of the game. Mumbai Indians Management gradually changed their policy of buying aged stars and have reaped rewards for trusting the youngsters. Mumbai did not totally give up their habit of buying veterans and recently surprised everyone by buying Yuvraj Singh before the 2019 IPL.

In this article, we will look at five famous players who played their last IPL game in the famous blue shirt and never returned to the Indian Premier League,

1. JP Duminy

Duminy had a topsy-turvy IPL career, much like his International career for South Africa. His first IPL season was in 2009 for Mumbai, and he ended his career at Wankhede in 2018. He has scored over 500 runs for Mumbai but his most memorable performances came for Deccan Chargers and Delhi Capitals. He emerged as a solid middle player by scoring over 400 runs during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He was also a useful part-time bowler and has picked 23 wickets in his IPL career.

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2. Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj’s IPL record pale in comparison to his numbers while playing for India and the reason could be a heavy price tag which prevented him from enjoying his batting fully. He is one among IPL’s many notable journeymen and his longest stint was with Kings XI Punjab. He was at his best for Sunrisers Hyderabad for whom he scored 488 runs at a strike rate of 137. Furthermore, he played only four games for Mumbai Indians in his last season and could be featuring in foreign T-20 leagues after announcing his comeback from retirement.

3. Lendl Simmons

Simmons is the prime example of a player respected by all, loved by none. Every Mumbai Indians fan will talk highly of his achievements, but he is never quite mentioned while talking about Mumbai’s greatest players. He played just 29 innings for Mumbai and has scored 1079 runs at a strike rate of 127. He is the second-fastest player to 1000 runs in the IPL and played a crucial part in Mumbai’s title triumph in 2015.

4. Sanath Jayasuriya

Jayasuriya was past his peak when he opened with Tendulkar during the first two seasons of IPL, but he made his presence felt with some stunning assaults on opposition bowlers. One such blistering knock was his 114* versus Chennai Super Kings in 2008. In the 2008 season, he was the shining light amidst a disappointing campaign for Mumbai as he scored 514 runs at a strike rate of 166.34 and also rolled his arm over when required. He could not create much impact in the next two seasons, mainly due to his age, but he is still remembered fondly for his fearless stroke play.

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5. Sachin Tendulkar

Putting aside the numbers and other achievements, Sachin Tendulkar is arguably the single biggest reason for Mumbai Indians’ popularity throughout the country. 2008 is one of Tendulkar’s toughest years in International cricket and his woeful run of form continued in the IPL.

Everyone thought he was past his best when he made a spellbinding return to form, both for India and Mumbai Indians. He scored over 600 runs for Mumbai in the 2010 season, a record still unmatched by a Mumbai player. He scored 554 runs in the next IPL season albeit at a lower strike rate. His powers began to wane again, and he subsequently retired after finally lifting the IPL trophy in 2013.

 

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