Playing 11 of players to have featured for both MI & RCB in the IPL ft. Cameron Green
Mumbai Indians take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 25th match of IPL 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 11, Thursday.
Neither of these teams has done exceedingly well this season and will be desperately hoping for a win here. While MI are eighth in the league table with a mere two points to their name at the moment, RCB are perched one spot below them with the same number of points.
What is interesting about these two teams is that a lot of players have plied their trade for both sides and ended up becoming stars in their own right. We take a look at the playing XI of players to have featured for both these teams:
Openers: Robin Uthappa and Parthiv Patel
The openers of this side will be Robin Uthappa and Parthiv Patel, both of whom have had decent tenures with MI and RCB.
While Uthappa was a part of the RCB side in the inaugural edition of the IPL back in 2008, he played a couple of seasons for MI in 2009 and 2010. Patel, on the other hand, was a part of RCB until quite recently. Although he first became a part of the franchise in the 2014 season, he came back to play for them from 2018 to 2020.
Patel and Uthappa will provide a lot of variety with their left-hand and right-hand combination. The former will also keep wickets for this team.
Middle order: Dinesh Karthik, Cameron Green and Saurabh Tiwary
The middle order of this side looks fairly well-balanced, with the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Cameron Green and Saurabh Tiwary in it.
Karthik, who plies his trade for RCB at the moment, is one of the finest cricketers to have come out of the country. The Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter played for MI in 2012 and 2013 and also turned out for RCB in the past.
Cameron Green, RCB's latest recruit, was a part of the MI team in the 2023 edition of the IPL before he moved to the Bengaluru-based franchise this season. He will add a lot of all-round qualities to his new side.
Former India batter Saurabh Tiwary, on the other hand, was a part of RCB from 2011 to 2013 and had three terms with MI, from 2008 to 2010, 2017 to 2018 and 2020 to 2021.
Spinners: Yuzvendra Chahal and Karn Sharma
This side will be boosted by the presence of two leg-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Karn Sharma.
Chahal, who now plays for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, made his debut in this cash-rich competition for MI in 2011 and played for them till 2013. He was snapped up by RCB the following season and he remained with them until the 2021 season.
Sharma, on the other hand, was a part of RCB in the 2009 season of the IPL held in South Africa and came back to the franchise in 2022. After playing a vital role for SRH till 2016, the Railways' leggie also spent a season with MI in 2017.
Fast bowlers: RP Singh, Zaheer Khan, Vinay Kumar and Tim Southee
This side has one of the finest fast-bowling trios that one can hope to have in a T20 side. With the likes of RP Singh, Zaheer Khan, Vinay Kumar and Tim Southee around, this side is bound to challenge most opposition batting units.
Zaheer and RP, being left-handed, will be able to swing the ball into right-handers while Southee is known for his accuracy.
RP was a part of MI in 2012 but spent the next season with RCB. Zaheer, on the other hand, was a part of the Bengaluru-based franchise in the inaugural edition of the tournament and returned to play for them from 2011 to 2013. He played two seasons for MI from 2009 to 2010 while returning for a sole season in 2014.
Southee was a part of both these franchises for two seasons each. He spent 2016 and 2017 with MI while he turned out for RCB in the 2017 and 2018 seasons of the IPL.
Former Karnataka and India seamer R Vinay Kumar, meanwhile, was a part of RCB from 2008 to 2010 while MI had him in their ranks from 2015 to 2017.