Is Mumbai Indians the greatest T20 team of all time?

Mumbai Indians’ 2020 IPL campaign was a completely one-sided show. Not only did they win their fifth title but also did it convincingly. Delhi Capitals, the second-best team of the league barely looked like troubling the Mumbai team at any point of the four matches they faced off in. The reason behind MI’s dominance through the tournament was the presence of top-quality players and their aggressive approach across departments.

Rohit Sharma, who became captain of Mumbai in 2013 has allowed the franchise to build a dashing team around him. Investing in a young captain and youngster helped MI to become IPL’s most successful team despite winning no title in the first five seasons. In these eight years, Mumbai has won a total of five titles,  two more than Chennai Super Kings; the second most successful team in IPL history.

Their latest title helped Mumbai Indians become the most successful franchise in the history of Twenty20 cricket. They went past Trinbago Knight Riders who had won their 4th title in the Caribbean Premier League only a week before the start of IPL 2020. The franchise, hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, won half the number of CPL titles that took place till date. However, the West Indies-based T20 franchise consists of only six teams while no edition of IPL took place with less than eight sides.

Most successful T20 team?

In fact, MI’s maiden title came in 2013 where the tournament had as many as nine teams. Mumbai Indians do fall behind Sialkot Stallions and Titans in terms of the most number of titles won in a T20 competition. The Sialkot and Titans have won as many as six titles apiece in Pakistan and South Africa domestic T20 competitions respectively. Domestic tournaments might not give a clear picture due to the advantage some teams get, thanks to the presence of top players hailing from a certain region.

When it comes to franchise T20 cricket, the owners have to build their own team from scratch – something Mumbai Indians have been extremely successful at. The presence of huge support staff and having a clear blueprint of how to take things forward on the field has proved to be a successful strategy for Mumbai. Alongside five IPL titles, the Mumbai Indians have also won two titles in the Champions League T20 which came to a closure in 2014.