IPL: 5 Players who gave splendid performances after leaving Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians (MI) are considered the most successful franchise in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) having won the title as many as five times in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. The defending champions are known for making the career of many young cricketers by including them in their camp and giving them a chance in playing XI. While the five-time champions are known for producing many promising cricketers, there are few players whose careers took off after they left MI.
In this article, let’s flip the pages and take a look at 5 players who did well after leaving Mumbai Indians:
5. Dwayne Bravo
One of the most celebrated all-rounders in the shortest format of the game, Dwayne Bravo, is known as a street-smart cricketer both with the bat and the ball. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has played a major role in establishing the brand of the West Indies great in the T20I format.
Not many are aware of the fact that the 37-year-old had kickstarted his IPL career with Mumbai. Bravo represented the franchise in the first three editions from 2008 to 2010 but had a moderate campaign. However, his stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from 2011 changed his life for good. The all-rounder has featured in 140 IPL games scoring 1490 runs at an average of 22.6 and strike-rate of 128.2. He also has 153 wickets under his belt at an economy rate of 8.40.
4. Shreyas Gopal
The right-arm leg-break bowler, hailing from Karnataka, Shreyas Gopal, was rewarded for his consistent performance in the domestic circuit as he was picked by the franchise Mumbai Indians during the IPL auction for the 2014 edition. However, he barely got any opportunities in the Mumbai camp and kept waiting for a chance to feature in the playing XI.
The turning point of his career came during the 2018 edition of the T20 Championship as he was picked by Rajasthan Royals and got lengthy game time during the tournament. In 11 IPL games Gopal played during IPL 2018, he picked 11 wickets at an economy of 7.61 along with picking four wickets during a game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
3. Shikhar Dhawan
India’s veteran opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan had started his IPL career with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and collected four half-centuries. The 2009 and 2010 editions saw the swashbuckling batsman playing for Mumbai Indians as he was traded by Delhi in exchange for Ashish Nehra. He delivered an underwhelming performance in both seasons and this resulted in him getting released for the 2011 edition.
Getting picked by Deccan Chargers during IPL 2011 edition proved as a masterstroke as the Delhi-born delivered a lot of match-winning performances for the Orange Army. He had played a major role in helping SRH win the title in 2016 as he had finished as the second-highest run-scorer for the team with 501 runs under his belt.
Dhawan’s stint with SRH came to an end in 2019 as he was again traded to Delhi Capitals and has formed a formidable part of the team’s batting line-up. IPL 2020 also witnessed Dhawan becoming the first batsman to score back-to-back hundreds in IPL.
2. Ambati Rayudu
India’s former middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu’s career in the Indian Premier League (IPL) kickstarted during the 2010 edition as he was picked by Mumbai Indians. Rayudu played for the Mumbai franchise as a middle-order batsman and part-time wicketkeeper till the 2017 edition and helped the team win the tournament thrice in 2013, 2015, and 2017.
However, the fresh auction in 2018 saw the batsman getting picked by the three-time champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK). IPL 2018 was a breakthrough season in the right-hander’s career as he accumulated a whopping 602 runs including a century. This was followed by the batsman scoring 282 runs in the 2019 edition followed by 359 runs at an average of 39.88 and a strike rate of 127.30 in IPL 2020, hosted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
1. Yuzvendra Chahal
Nobody can deny the fact that the leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is formidable when it comes to the shortest format of the game. Chahal forms a vital cog of the playing XI of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and is equally important to the team as skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. However, one might be surprised to know that Chahal’s journey in the T20 Championship had started in the 2011 edition with Mumbai Indians (MI).
He played for Mumbai for three seasons but could find a place in the playing XI in just one game across three seasons. However, getting picked by RCB in 2014 opened new doors for Chahal and since then there has been no looking back for the leg-spinner.
