IPL history: Mumbai Indians XI from their first ever match - Where are they now?
The Mumbai Indians are right up there with the best teams in the history of the IPL. The team was bought by Reliance Industries for $111.9 Million & was the most expensive team in the league. Mumbai had many legends of the game in their squad but couldn’t quite deliver in the first season.
For a team consisting so many star players, Mumbai Indians were underwhelming in first 2 seasons of the IPL. In the 3rd season, they managed to finish as runner-up. But Mumbai has been very consistent since then.
In the last 8 seasons, they have failed to make playoffs only twice. 3 times, they managed to make a place in playoffs & won trophy 3 times; making them the franchise with most IPL titles along with their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings.
Next edition of the IPL is around the corner. In this article, we will have a look at Mumbai’s playing XI in the first ever IPL game they played & whereabouts of their players.
#1 Openers: Luke Ronchi and Sanath Jayasuriya
Mumbai’s Captain Sachin Tendulkar was injured before the start of the season & was unavailable for first few matches. In his absence, Luke Ronchi handled the opening duties.
Luke Ronchi never got going in the tournament. In the first 4 matches he played as an opener, he could manage only 34 runs. Ronchi played only one match in the IPL 2009 & since then, he hasn’t been picked by any franchise. He played for New Zealand in World Cup 2015 & is playing in various T20 leagues.
Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya had a poor start to the tournament, but he turned it around in next 7 matches by scoring 378 runs which included a blistering 114* of 48 balls vs CSK.
He formed a very good opening partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. Jayasuriya was part of Mumbai for next 2 IPLs as well but his performance was poor. Post-retirement, Jayasuriya has given his services to the Sri Lanka cricket board as Chairman of Selectors.