3 former Mumbai Indians (MI) players who have gone on to captain against them in the IPL
A high-flying Mumbai Indians (MI) go up north to take on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). A win here almost seals their spot in the playoffs, but the conditions could test Mumbai. From chasing down 200 totals for fun, Mumbai Indians will be challenged on perhaps the toughest pitch this IPL.
Led by Krunal Pandya, a former Mumbai Indians player, Lucknow Super Giants are in the hunt for a playoffs spot themselves. Krunal knows a thing or two about the franchise that made him, and he will be keen to lead the charge as one of the key spinners for Lucknow.
Here we take a look at three Mumbai Indians players who have gone on to captain against them in the IPL:
#3 Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik was an integral part of Mumbai Indians in 2012 and 2013 and was a regular finisher for the side. Such was his form that he was picked up as a regular batter in India’s squad for the 2013 Champions Trophy. In 33 innings for Mumbai Indians, Karthik scored 748 runs at an average of 24.13 and with a strike rate of almost 120.
He then went on to lead Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 2018 season and took over the mantle from Gautam Gambhir who joined the Delhi Capitals. Karthik led KKR for two entire seasons of the IPL, and captained the side to the playoffs in 2018 and a fifth-place finish in 2019. He handed over the captaincy to Eoin Morgan mid-season in 2020 after a string of poor results.
#2 Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan formed a terrific opening stand with Sachin Tendulkar for the Mumbai Indians back in 2010. He was also part of the side in 2009, but his best year with Mumbai came in 2010 when they made it to the final.
In 14 innings for Mumbai, the left-hander scored 231 runs at an average of 28.58 and with a strike-rate of 107. He was then traded to the SunRisers Hyderabad and even captained the side in 2014. However, it was not a very successful stint.
This season, Dhawan is captaining the Punjab Kings. Despite having one of the strongest sides in the IPL, Punjab has not been able to get on a roll and build any momentum and are on 12 points in 12 matches.
#1 Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya was snapped up as a young prodigy by the Mumbai Indians and was given a lot of backing. The all-rounder found his range and realized his potential with Mumbai. He went on to become one of India’s leading all-rounders across all three formats.
However, Pandya had to be released ahead of the mega-auctions two years ago. He was snapped up by the Gujarat Titans and was also made captain. Hardik won a lot of accolades for his tactical acumen when he led Gujarat to their maiden title win in their debut season.
He has since gone on to captain India in T20Is and is being viewed as a permanent replacement for Rohit Sharma as India captain in the shortest format.