5 great players who failed badly at Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians (MI) are the most successful team in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They have won the title five times. Over the years, they have been home to some of the all-time greats.

However, a few big players failed to leave a mark for the Mumbai Indians after a lot of hype. We look at five such high-profile players in this article. Though they are undoubtedly among the greats of the game, the franchise-based league didn't go too well for them.

#1 Ricky Ponting

➡️ #MITales 📖 | 2013, Mumbai. Two batting maestros - Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting come together and open the batting for the very first time.

#OneFamily @sachin_rt @RickyPonting https://t.co/toY26HoKkW

Ricky Ponting is one of the greatest cricketers of all time. The former Australian skipper has several accolades in his 16-year-long international career. Mumbai signed him for ₹2.12 crores after he retired from international cricket. He had previously played for KKR in the inaugural edition.

Cricket fans were excited to see him and Sachin Tendulkar open the innings together for the Mumbai Indians.

However, the former Australia captain had a terrible run. He could only score 52 runs in five innings at an average of 10.40 and a strike rate of 69.33. The great batter looked extremely uncomfortable, whenever he was out there at the crease. Ponting eventually dropped himself and appointed Rohit Sharma as the captain. The rest, as they say, is history.

#2 Dwayne Bravo

3 former Mumbai Indians players back in Blue & Gold representing @MIEmirates!

Drop a 💙 in the comments if you are excited to see Bravo, Boulty & Pooran back in the MI #OneFamily 🤩

#MIemirates @DJBravo47 @nicholas_47 https://t.co/5k1PDD2OR2

Dwayne Bravo is one of the greatest T20 cricketers of all time. He won two T20 World Cup titles with the West Indies. He has also been a crucial part of CSK's success in the IPL. The all-rounder has taken 183 wickets at an economy rate of 8.39 and has scored 1560 runs at a strike rate of 129.57 in the coveted tournament.

However, ardent cricket fans also remember the days when he was a player for the Mumbai Indians. The Trinidad and Tobago all-rounder played for the Mumbai-based franchise for the first three seasons of the competition.

The right-hander scored 457 runs but at a paltry strike rate of 117. He took 26 wickets at an economy rate of 8.20, and was far from his best.

#3 Andrew Symonds

Andrew Symonds joins his former Deccan team mate Rohit Sharma to join the Mumbai Indians. Sold for 850,000!

Former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds was one of the most destructive all-rounders of his era. However, he played most of his cricket at a time when T20 as a format was at a very nascent stage. He made his IPL debut with the Deccan Chargers and was instrumental in the title victory in 2009.

Mumbai Indians signed him in the 2011 edition of the tournament. He scored 135 runs in 9 innings at an average of 34 and a strike rate of just 98. This was a huge decline from his record at Deccan Chargers (137 strike rate). He also went from bowling 53 overs in the 2010 season to just 4 in 2011.

#4 Michael Hussey

Can you build a conversation between these two cricket legends? #Hussey #Kumble #ChampionsAreBack #IPL http://t.co/2RdHfNXhHD

Popularly known as Mr Cricket, Michael Hussey was one of the most consistent batters in world cricket across all three formats. After turning 30, he made his international debut for Australia.

The southpaw has a solid record in the IPL too, scoring 1977 runs at an average of 38.76 and a strike rate of 122.64. He has had a long association with the Chennai Super Kings and is a legend of the franchise,

CSK's rivals, the Mumbai Indians, signed him for ₹5 crores in the 2014 edition of the tournament. He had won the Orange Cap in the previous season. Hence, he was expected to live up to those lofty standards.

However, he could only score 209 runs in 9 innings at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 115. He eventually retired as a CSK player in the next edition.

#5 Yuvraj Singh

Name 👉 Yuvraj Singh 🦁
Offence 👉 Late for a meeting 🤷🏻‍♂

#OneFamily #CricketMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians @YUVSTRONG12 https://t.co/hQGolA0MXf

All-rounder Yuvraj Singh played for India from 2000 to 2017. The left-hander played in 132 IPL matches from 2008 to 2019, scoring 2750 runs at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 130.

He played for the Mumbai Indians in the last season of his IPL career. The Punjab cricketer has only represented them in four matches and scored 98 runs at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 131.

Although he looked at his fluent best in the first couple of matches, he struggled to get going against the Punjab Kings and failed against Chennai.

He was eventually dropped to accommodate the young Ishan Kishan in the playing 11. He retired from all forms of cricket a month after the Mumbai Indians won the tournament.