Mumbai Indians is the most valuable IPL franchise in terms of brand value at nearly $ 115 million. It is also the most successful IPL team having won 5 IPL trophies and 2 Champion League T20 trophies. The MI team likes to address itself as a family and has built a strong core of players. However, there are some players that are not generally associated with the MI team but in reality, were once part of the MI Paltan.
They may not have garnered reputation or fame while playing in MI but went on to become superstars in other franchises. It is an established practice in Mumbai Indians to take players and nurture them. They are given time and backed by the management to deliver. Hence, the players in MI are recognized and related to the franchise.
However, we look at 5 players who started their career with the Mumbai franchise but went on to play for other franchises and gained fame.
1. Ashish Nehra
Nehra made quite a name for himself as India’s ace left-arm white ball pacer. In the first IPL, he played for the MI team. In the 14 matches, he picked up 12 wickets and made an impactful IPL debut. However, his stay at MI was short and he moved to Delhi in the next season. He has subsequently played for Pune Warriors India, CSK and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
2. Ajinkya Rahane
Rahane was part of the Mumbai set-up for the first three seasons but did not find much game time at his preferred position. He played a total of 10 matches in the 2008 and 09 seasons combined. He scored a mere 150 runs across the two seasons. Thereafter, he moved to Rajasthan where he came into his own. He notched up 560, 488, 339, 540, and 480 runs between the 2012 and 2016 seasons. He has captained Rajasthan in the 2017 season before moving to Delhi Capitals.
3. Dwayne Bravo
One of the best T20 players in the past decade has to be the West Indian superstar Dwayne Bravo. He was part of two T20 world cup winning teams. He also lifted the IPL trophy thrice with CSK and reached innumerable finals. He was part of the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural season but soon moved to CSK which has become his permanent home. His name today is synonymous with CSK but he started his journey in Mumbai in 2008.
4. Manish Pandey
Very few people know that Pandey was picked by Mumbai Indian in the inaugural season. However, he did not get match time and went to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second season and went on to become the first Indian to score a hundred in IPL. He has subsequently played international cricket for India and has also been the pillar of the middle order for SRH and KKR through various seasons.
5. Ambati Rayudu
Rayudu made his IPL in 2010. It would wrong to say that Rayudu did not become popular when he played for Mumbai Indians. He played for MI before moving to CSK in 2018. In CSK, he made an immediate impact in 2018 when he clocked 602 runs in the season he was the Orange cap-holder in that season and has eventually become a match-winner for CSK. His dynamic presence in the middle order has turned around CSK’s campaign this season. His impact in the CSK set-up has been so profound that people do not remember that he did not start his career with them.
