IPL 2020: 3 lesser-known Indian players that played for Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians have been the most successful franchise in Indian Premier League history, with four trophies to its name in 12 seasons. The Rohit Sharma-led outfit secured its fourth title last year with a 1-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings in the grand finale.
Indian cricket team stars like Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya are a part of the current Mumbai squad. Besides them, the franchise has also been home to some great Indian cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, and several others.
However, some Indian players did not have an extended stay at Mumbai Indians, so many fans may not remember them as former squad members of the Mukesh Ambani-owned franchise.
Here are the three Indian players you might not know once played for Mumbai Indians in the PL.
3. Stuart Binny
Former Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Stuart Binny began his IPL career as a part of the Mumbai Indians team in IPL 2010. The Mumbai-based franchise made it to the final of that season, but Binny did not get enough opportunities to showcase his talent.
Binny played only one match for Mumbai that season, where he scored eight runs off five deliveries against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Ashok Dinda dismissed him, while Binny returned with figures of 0/9 with the ball as Mumbai lost the match by nine wickets.
2. Manish Pandey
The Mumbai Indians picked up Manish Pandey in the IPL 2008 draft. The right-handed batsman could not make a significant impact in his debut season as he could only aggregate three runs in three matches for Mumbai.
The current Sunrisers Hyderabad star earned his maiden IPL cap against Kolkata Knight Riders. Co-incidentally, just like Stuart Binny, Pandey lost his wicket to Ashok Dinda.
In the next match against the Rajasthan Royals, Pandey got out to Sohail Tanvir after scoring three runs off six balls. He did not get a chance to bat in the last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
1. Praveen Kumar
Former Indian medium-pacer Praveen Kumar played for five teams in the IPL. He made his IPL debut playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008. After three seasons, he switched to Kings XI Punjab. However, a decline in form and constant injury issues led to his exit from KXIP in 2013.
Mumbai Indians signed him up in 2014 as Zaheer Khan's replacement. Kumar featured in three games for Mumbai, where he scalped three wickets at a magnificent economy rate of 6.50. Still, the Mumbai Indians did not retain him ahead of IPL 2015.
Kumar played for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Lions in the last three seasons of his IPL career. He still holds the record for the most maiden overs (14) by a bowler in IPL history.