Mumbai Indians' all-time dream team unveiled

Mumbai Indians have been one of the most successful sides in IPL history

What’s the story?

2017 marks the 10^th edition of the Indian Premier League. This year’s IPL is special for a number of reasons – teams and fans have started getting nostalgic about the journey so far and have all started listing down what they’ve enjoyed about the league so far.

Further, the next edition will most likely see completely fresh members in the teams as the original IPL plan involved a revamp after 10 years. The Mumbai Indians have been one of the most popular sides in the history of the league, and a number of stars, Indians, and foreigners have lined-up for the iconic franchise.

The team ran a #MIDreamTeam contest on their website inviting fans to vote for the best XI players to have ever represented the side. 

The Paltan have had their say!

Presenting to you, the -studded #MIDreamTeam! pic.twitter.com/YMZrHN3tbs

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 30, 2017

Full team – Lendl Simmons, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayadu, Parthiv Patel, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah, Zaheer Khan

The context 

Mumbai Indians’ profile on Twitter is one of the best managed and provides fans a sneak-peek into what goes behind the scenes quite often. They had asked fans to vote for their favourite players by breaking them into different categories. 

Bringing order in the middle! Hussey? Ponting? Rohit? Who would you vote for from the 3 options? Pick 1 & tweet using #MIDreamTeam! pic.twitter.com/Oyz2zhxONO

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 25, 2017

With Duminy, Rayudu & Tiwary - your choices don't get any easier! Tweet to us your pick for the all-time MI XI using #MIDreamTeam! pic.twitter.com/eCgz8PBQtw

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 26, 2017

All-rounders are vital in the T20 format! Vote for your favourite MI all-rounder using #MIDreamTeam. Tweet away! pic.twitter.com/r8DArPxs3g

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 26, 2017

The details 

The Mumbai Indians fans have spoken and formed a very strong team. There are undoubtedly a few surprises here and there, though. The core of the Mumbai team comprising of Sachin, Rohit, Rayadu, Pollard, Harbhajan, Malinga and Bumrah make it to the squad.

The other 4 spots were slightly more tricky, though. West Indies’ Lendl Simmons has endeared himself to the fans after coming into the side in 2014 and has usurped a number of other great openers they have had over the years. Mitchell Johnson had a couple of great seasons with the franchise and will be lining up for them in the upcoming edition as well.

Parthiv Patel made it to the side ahead of the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Jos Buttler while Zaheer Khan, who was part of Mumbai’s squad in the early editions of the IPL was a surprise pick. 

Author’s Take 

Mumbai Indians’ all-time XI is littered with stars and can hold its own against any of the best ever teams for the other franchises. With the said, the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Saurabh Tiwary, Dinesh Karthik, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel and Dhawal Kulkarni can feel hard done by not making it to the squad.