5 Best buys by Mumbai Indians in IPL History
Mumbai Indians are currently one of the strongest and most followed teams in the IPL. Mumbai Indians couldn’t clinch the titles for initial few years even after having star players like Sachin Tendulkar, Shaun Pollock and Sanath Jayasuriya in the team.
After finishing in the bottom half for the first two seasons, they reached the finals of the 2010 edition only to lose to their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings. They had to wait for 2 more years before winning the trophy in 2013 for the first time.
It has been onwards and upwards thereon as they won 2 more titles in the next 5 years while reaching the playoffs once. In the past 10 years, Mumbai Indians have always been the most enthusiastic team at auctions too by buying the red-hot players who offer a lot of promise.
Richard Levi, Glenn Maxwell are some examples of the same who was bought by the team for a huge price. Ignoring the minor blips at the auctions, Mumbai has always been a smart franchise in choosing the right mix of players from the pool.
We now list you the 5 best buys by Mumbai Indians in the IPL history:
#1 Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga always bowled with a strange action and used the same to baffle the batsmen. Mumbai Indians bought him in 2008 for 350,000 US dollars and he was forced to miss the season due to the knee injury.
Joining the team in 2009, he became a valuable asset to the team as the years proceeded. His toe-crushing yorkers at the beginning as well as in the death overs have been crucial in providing some early breakthrough and in restricting the opponents.
There are numerous matches where Malinga has been a crucial player in the team and is a go-to player for the captains for providing the breakthroughs. Malinga is the leading wicket-taker in IPL with a total of 154 scalps.
Along with winning the purple cap in 2011, he holds numerous other records in IPL. Playing a total of 110 matches he has picked 154 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 6.89. Malinga was appointed as the bowling mentor for the team after he went unsold in this year’s IPL auctions.