IPL: Decoding Mumbai Indians’ Successful Run Over The Years

From not winning a single trophy till 2013 to winning four in seven years, Mumbai Indians have come a long way.

Mumbai Indians is the most successful team in the Indian Premier League. They have been crowned IPL champions for record four times. Every good team has something that other teams lack and when it comes to Mumbai Indians there are certain things which they do better than the others.

The ‘Men in Blue’ of IPL first won the title in 2013. After that they have won every alternate year – 2015, 2017 and 2019. Each of these years they have played to their full potential and made very good decisions starting from the auction till the tournament’s finale.

Rohit and co have had their shares of ups and downs but nothing has stopped them from improving and delivering splendid performances through these years.

It’s been a tale of patience for them. From not winning a single trophy till 2013 to winning four in seven years, they have come a long way.

There are various reasons behind the Mumbai outfit’s success in the Indian Premier League. From having a good core, talent scouting to having a very experienced support staff, the defending champions has made sure they excel in each and every department.

Here’s a look at the four main reasons behind their success:

Same Core Team

One of the major factors behind Mumbai Indians’ success is their retaining policy. Their core team has remained the same over the years. No matter what happens they make sure they don’t play around with the basic ingredients of their success.

They bought their current captain Rohit Sharma in the year 2011 and he has been with the team since then. Strike bowler Lasith Malinga is with the team since the very first season of IPL.

The team bought Hardik Pandya in 2015 and has kept him in the roster since then.

This policy of retaining the main core of the team gives confidence to players that the team management is backing them, specially through their bad phase. Gradually, these players have got settled and have made themselves irreplaceable in the squad.

Impressive Talent Scouting

Indian Premier League is a tournament which is known to provide young and fresh talent to international cricket, especially to the Indian cricket team. Each and every squad has a certain quota for uncapped players who have never represented any major international team.

Nobody has done it better than Mumbai Indians when it comes to providing young and promising talent to Indian cricket.

Former New Zealand captain John Wright, who also coached India, was the head coach of Mumbai Indians in 2013 when the team won their first ever IPL trophy. Two years later he resigned from the head coach post and became the talent scout manager for the team.

The former New Zealand captain used to attend various domestic tournament’s across the country along with his team just to find young and promising talents for Mumbai Indians.

Instead of relaxing at his home in Christchurch, he was always seen in an Indian ground.

India’s leading strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah came to the fore when MI bought him in the 2013 auctions.

The right-arm-fast played only two matches in his first ever IPL, picking three wickets at an average of 23.33. His next two seasons were also not too good by his standards. He introduced himself to world cricket in 2016 after he claimed 15 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 27.6.

Till now Jasprit Bumrah has picked 82 wickets in 77 innings at an economy of 7.56 and average of 26.62.

Another young player that has been serving Indian cricket well for quite some time now is Hardik Pandya. Hardik was spotted by the MI talent scouts in the year 2015.

Since then Hardik has scored 1,068 runs in 66 matches at an average of 28.86 and has taken 42 wickets in 60 innings at an average of 31.26.

Strong Support Staff

Apart from the squad, support staff play a major role in building a successful team. Rohit Sharma’s team has made sure that they have a strong support staff to help their players improve their performance in every way possible.

At the helm of their support staff are two cricketing legends, Sachin Tendulkar and Mahela Jayawardene. While Mahela is the coach of the team, Sachin acts as a mentor for the boys. Both of them, along with the other staff members, have helped the team achieve a lot of success.

Any youngster would want to be in a dressing room where Sachin and Mahela is present to help you in your batting and a Zaheer Khan along with Shane Bond to assist you in your bowling.

Mumbai Indians have been successful in creating a learning atmosphere in the dressing room which have impacted their on-field performance in a big way.

Here’s a look at the Mumbai Indians full support staff:

• Mentor – Sachin Tendulkar
• Coach – Mahela Jayawardene
• Director of Cricket Operations – Zaheer Khan
• Bowling Coach – Shane Bond
• Batting Coach – Robin Singh
• Fielding Coach – James Pamment
• Strength and Conditioning Coach – Paul Chapman
• Manager – Rahul Sanghvi
• Video Analyst – L Varun
• Sports Massage Therapist – Amit Shah
• Assistant Physio – Ashutosh Nimse
• Assistant Trainers – Pratik Kadam & Nagendra Prasad
• Nutritionist – Kinita Patel

Strong Financial Base

Mumbai Indians is owned by the richest man of India, Mukesh Ambani. The Ambanis never shy away from doing anything for the team and they provide them with everything they need.

MI’s brand value as of now is Rs 809 crore which is the highest among all the IPL franchises.

The only difference between other teams and Mumbai Indians is that the latter has used their money effectively. They have invested the money in right areas. From talent scouting to buying right players to building a strong support staff for the team.

Apart from the financial help, their owners also make sure that the players gets some time off and relax before a match. There is no pressure on the players and they are always treated as a family.

Mumbai Indians’ Released Players

Adam Milne, Alzarri Joseph, Barinder Sran, Ben Cutting, Beuran Hendricks, Evin Lewis, Jason Behrendorff, Pankaj Jaswal, Rasikh Dar, Yuvraj Singh

Mumbai Indians’ Current Squad

Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Anukul Roy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McCleneghan, Quinton de Kock, Rahul Chahar, Rohit Sharma, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Trent Boult

Mumbai Indians’ Player Slots Left

Seven (five domestic, two overseas)

Money Spent

71.95 cr

Money Remaining

13.05 cr