IPL Team Profile – Mumbai Indians

:The most successful franchise in IPL history, the Mumbai Indians are the undisputed kings of this league, winning the title 5 times, including in the last 2 seasons back-to-back. Owned by the family of the richest man in India – Mukesh Ambani, Mumbai Indians are the most well-run club off the pitch as well. 

They have traditionally boasted of the strongest of squads on paper, with some of the finest players to have graced this sport plying their trade for them at some point of their careers, none bigger than Sachin Tendulkar, who was the original icon player for this franchise.

Mumbai Indians: Franchise History

Mumbai Indians are one of the original franchises of the IPL, active since the very first day of the league. They are owned by India’s largest conglomerate – Reliance Industries, and they enjoy the support of many Bollywood celebrities.

The Mumbai Indians have seen some of the greatest players in IPL history play for them over the years. In the inaugural season, MI selected local boy Sachin Tendulkar as their icon player.

In the first-ever auction, they acquired many local as well as international talents such as Sanath Jayasuria, Lasith Malinga, Shaun Pollock and Harbhajan Singh. Sachin was assigned as the captain of a strong team on paper, and excitement was rife in the MI camp head of the inaugural IPL season in 2008.

However, MI got off to the worst possible start, losing their first 4 matches in a row and were rock bottom of the league table. Their stand-in captain, Harbhajan Singh, was then banned from the tournament for allegedly slapping Sreesanth after a match, in of the most controversial IPL incidents of all time.

However, MI came back strongly in the second half of the season, with 6 consecutive wins, and barely missed out on the play-off spots, with 7 wins and 7 defeats in 14 matches.

In their second season, MI made some important trades to get in Shikhar Dhawan and Zaheer Khan to their squad, while also purchasing JP Duminy in the auction. With the season being played in South Africa due to elections in India, Duminy was on fire throughout the tournament, as was Sachin.

Malinga started to display his magic with the ball as well, however, the performers were too far and few in between, and MI finished a lowly 7th in the league, with just 5 wins in 14 matches.

Mumbai Indians: 2010 - 2021 performance

The 2010 IPL auction was a real game-changer for the Mumbai Indians, as they signed the Big West Indian Keiron Pollard for a sum of $750000, with the player eventually becoming one of their all-time most important signings.

MI started the season brilliantly, with Sachin Tendulkar in incredible form. They topped the league table, with 20 points in 14 matches. In the semifinal, they beat RCB after an inspiring performance from Pollard. In the final, however, they made some strategic errors and lost to arch-rivals CSK. Sachin ended the season with the Orange Cap with 616 runs.

2011 onwards, the MI squad really began taking shape, with the addition of current skipper Rohit Sharma for a whopping $2 million. They finished that season in 3rd place at the league stage, before eventually succumbing to RCB in the qualifier.

2012 was a similar story, as they finished 3rd in the league and managed to reach the final, where they again lost to bitter rivals CSK. 

2013 was a breakthrough season for the Mumbai Indians, as they managed to win their first-ever IPL title with new skipper Rohit Sharma in inspiring form, and then managed to add the Champions League title to it as well.

In 2014, Mumbai suffered a record five defeats, but the team had rebounded to make the playoffs that year.

Between 2015 and 2020, Mumbai Indians became the undisputed kings of the league, winning the title 4 different times, and formed an extremely strong core of the team which carried the team to unprecedented success. Rohit, Pollard, Pandya Brothers, and Bumrah were some of the permanent fixtures of the dominant Mumbai side blazing through IPL over the years.

2019 final was the most dramatic IPL final to date, where arch-rivals CSK and MI met in the final for the 3rd time, and it was Mumbai that emerged as 3rd time lucky. CSK needed 2 runs of the last ball to win the match and the title, but Lasith Malinga had other ideas and he managed to take a wicket of that ball to hand MI a record 4th title.

In 2020, despite a very shaky start, MI managed to retain their title after a dominant win against first-time finalists Delhi Capitals in the final, to win their 5th title.

Mumbai Indians: 2021 season

For the first time since 2018, MI have failed to qualify for the IPL playoffs despite their 42-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

MI scored 235-9 with Ishan Kishan on 84 and Suryakumar Yadav on 82 in their first innings to qualify, beating the target of 171 runs.

Although Kishan scored an impressive 80, his teammate Suryakumar was nearly forgotten in Mumbai's win over Delhi. Kishan was clearly given the go-ahead to swing the bat, and he delivered the goods to Mumbai.  From the first ball, he pounded the Sunrisers' bowlers mercilessly, showing no mercy to their inexperienced batsmen. It was the fastest half-century in this year's IPL.

Mumbai reached a whopping 235 all out thanks to Suryakumar, who followed up where his teammate left off with a masterclass in the death overs that included 13 fours and three sixes. In spite of this, they were unable to advance to the play-offs.

However, this performance offered a peek of what five-time IPL champs can do when they're at their most devastating.

Ownership

The Mumbai franchise was originally the most expensive team to be sold in the IPL, with Reliance Industries purchasing it for a sum of $111.9 million, in the inaugural IPL franchise auction. They purchased the rights to the franchise for a period of 10 years.

In 2017, MI became the first franchise with a brand value of more than the $100 million mark in the IPL. In 2019, it was valued at $115 million, making it the highest valued franchise for the 4th consecutive year.

Legends And Records

The Mumbai Indians have had some of the best players to have graced this league over the years.

Rohit Sharma is the franchise’s highest run-scorer with 4060 runs in 151 innings between 2011 and 2020. He has struck 31 half-centuries and 1 century at a strike rate of over 130. He is also the longest-serving captain of the team, with a 60.34% success rate, winning 68 of the 116 matches played.

Kieron Pollard is another MI legend who is the 2nd highest scorer for them, with 3023 runs in 147 innings, while Ambati Rayudu hammered 2416 runs in 107 innings across 7 years.

Lastih Malinga is MI’s highest wicket-taker, with 170 wickets in 122 innings, and he is also the all-time highest wicket-taker in IPL history. His mesmerizing yorkers have won plenty of matches for the team. The current highest wicket-taker is Jasprit Bumrah, with 109 wickets in 92 innings.

Some of the biggest names in world cricket have plied their trade for the Mumbai Indians over the years, such as Sanath Jayasuria, Ricky Ponting, Kevin Pieterson, Sachin Tendulkar, Mitchell Johnson, Harbhajan Singh among others.

Mumbai Indians: IPL 2022 Performance Review

For the first time in MI's history, they lost six games in a row. At the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday night, they suffered their worst-ever start to an IPL season, losing by 18 runs to Lucknow Super Giants.

Consequently, Mumbai joined two other teams on the list of "unwanted" teams. Mumbai is the seventh club in the IPL season to fail six or more games in a row. Deccan Chargers (7 in 2008), Punjab Kings (7 in 2015), Delhi Capitals (6, 6, 9 in 2013, 2013 and 2014), RCB (6 in 2017 and 2019), Pune Warriors (9 in 2012 and 2013), and KKR (9 - 2009) are the other teams.

The Mumbai Indians' strength is the core group that they have kept. Four of the seven Indian players are regulars on the white-ball circuit in their home country, which include big names like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Jasprit Bumrah. Their first pairing is the most explosive. The bowling attack appears to be spectacular and the fast bowlers are world-class.

Mumbai Indians: IPL 2022 Auction

For a team like the Mumbai Indians, the ability to hold onto a core group of players has been invaluable. For five times in the last several years, Rohit Sharma has led MI to win the IPL. Alongside him, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Kieron Pollard were all retained.

In total, the franchise spent Rs 42 cr to retain and Rs 47.9 cr to buy players. The complete list of purchased and retained players for MI in the IPL 2022 auction:

Mumbai Indians: IPL 2022 Key Players

Mumbai Indians had a brilliant squad on paper, with plenty of big international names complemented by some top under-rated Indian talent. This squad had the perfect balance of power and talent, and it was not surprising to see them win the title.

Ishan Kishan – Ishan Kishan was the most expensive buy in the auction ahead of the season, and he smashed a magnificent 81* in his debut game, helping Mumbai Indians to a 177/5 victory over Delhi Capitals.

Rohit Sharma – Rohit Sharma, the captain, has become the second Indian and the seventh batter overall to reach 10,000 runs in men's T20 cricket. The Indian captain attained the milestone during a group stage encounter between the Mumbai Indians and the Punjab Kings in the IPL.

Kieron Pollard – Kieron Pollard is regarded as one of the best finishers in global cricket, frequently clearing the boundary with his power-hitting. Over the years, he has been outstanding with his finishing talents in the game's shortest version. Pollard has extensive experience in several T20 leagues throughout the world.

Mumbai Indians: IPL 2022 Lineup

Mumbai Indians: IPL 2022 Coaching Staff

A large part of a player's success or failure can be attributed to the coaching and support staff working behind the scenes.