Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard. (Source – BCCI/Mumbai Indians)
The joint-most successful franchise in IPL history, Mumbai Indians have had some of the greatest players in cricketing history in their 16 years of existence. In their initial years, Mumbai had the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, and Shaun Pollock among others and later, the likes of Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, and Mitchell Johnson joined, which made it a legendary franchise. They were never shy about spending on quality cricketers and courtesy of the same, Mumbai hosted multiple legends in the past.
The present looks stunning as well. Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav are modern-day greats and surely played their part in making MI one of the most successful teams in history, with five championships to their name. Now, since so many legendary cricketers played for Mumbai, the question arises, which players deserve to be in the top five?
Here’s our list:
5. Jasprit Bumrah
Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah is arguably the most important player in Mumbai Indians at the moment. He is the best seamer in the country and played a massive role in helping India win the T20 World Cup 2024 and qualify for the ODI World Cup 2023. The franchise understands the value he brings to the table and for the same reason, Bumrah has been retained for INR 18 crore ahead of IPL 2025 mega-auction. He was also their first retention.
The 30-year-old has played 136 matches for Mumbai in the IPL and picked up 168 wickets. He has played a vital role in helping the team win all five IPL titles and will be hoping to add a few more before he calls time. Notably, he is the highest wicket-taker in three of their IPL title wins, taking 20 wickets in 2017, 19 in 2019, and 27 in 2020.
Bumrah is one such player that has never played for any other franchise and it’s very unlikely that he will leave. There were talks of him leaving ahead of the IPL 2025 season but MI showed their respect, giving him the first retention and there’s no doubt that he shares an excellent rapport with the team management.
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4. Lasith Malinga
Is Lasith Malinga the greatest bowler to play for Mumbai Indians? One can argue. He has played 139 games for the franchise in the league, across 10 seasons, picking up 195 wickets at an average of 19.22. He holds the record for most wickets by an MI player in its history and his contribution to their four IPL wins will forever be remembered. Particularly in 2019, when he defended nine runs in the final to help Mumbai win the final against Chennai Super Kings by just one run.
He was the face of the Mumbai bowling unit for many years before passing the baton to Bumrah. The former Sri Lanka international also played a vital role in shaping Bumrah’s career, who was always in the limelight for his bowling action. The India international in multiple interviews acknowledged Malinga’s help as he is now 27 wickets behind the latter in the list of most wickets by an MI player.
After his retirement, the pacer became a bowling coach and joined Mumbai Indians. He later switched base to Rajasthan Royals before returning to Mumbai again. Currently, he holds the same role and he will be hoping to bring more success in Mumbai’s way after a few dreadful seasons.
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3. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar and Mumbai Indians are synonymous. Mumbai’s ‘Numero Uno’ and their first captain joined the team as an Icon player ahead of the 2008 mega-auction. He was signed for INR 4.4 crore and was the third-most expensive player in the 2008 season, behind MS Dhoni and Andrew Symonds. Notably, the legendary cricketer was part of the franchise till he retired in 2013.
He has played 91 matches for Mumbai, including 78 in the IPL, and scored 2599 runs. He also hit a century for the franchise and was the leading run-scorer of IPL 2010. In that season, he made 618 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 132.61 and took the team to the final but unfortunately, suffered a 22-run defeat in the final against Chennai Super Kings.
After his retirement, Sachin has been an integral part of the Mumbai Indians family. He has been a mentor ever since and also suggested MI to appoint Rohit Sharma as captain in 2013.
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2. Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard’s contribution to Mumbai Indians is unparalleled. He has represented the franchise in 211 matches scored 3915 and also picked up 79 wickets. In IPL, Pollard played 189 games for the team, scoring 3412 at a strike rate of 147.32. He has been an asset to the team over the years and even after his retirement, Pollard is serving MI as its batting coach.
Not just his blistering batting, but his bowling and especially fielding were equally important and vital in MI’s success over the years. The franchise bought Australia international Tim David to replace him and even though he did well it didn’t take Mumbai much time to realize that it would be extremely difficult for them to replace someone like Pollard. For the same reason, they also got back Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans.
Notably, Pollard is one of the rare cricketers to win five titles in IPL history. He also won two Champions Leagues and is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders to play in the cash-rich league. He joined the team in 2009 and never left until he retired from IPL in 2022.
1. Rohit Sharma
Joint-most successful captain alongside MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma joined Mumbai Indians in the 2011 mega-auction. He has signed for INR 11 crore and has been part of the squad ever since. There were doubts about him leaving the team ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction but he decided to continue with the team after signing a deal worth INR 16.30 crore per season.
Notably, Rohit played 221 matches for Mumbai, including that of Champions League, and scored 5731 runs. He was made captain in the middle of the 2013 season and in his first time as the leader, the Mumbai-born went on to lift the trophy. The 37-year-old was also the leading run-scorer of the team that season. He went on to win four more trophies in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020 and became the first captain to win five IPL titles in history. He also became the first cricketer to win six IPL trophies, having already won once with Deccan Chargers in 2009.
Rohit also holds the record for most matches, most runs, and most wins for Mumbai in IPL history. He is arguably the greatest player to play for the franchise and despite all the controversies in 2024, the India captain will continue with the franchise in 2025 and will be hopeful to add more laurels to his name.