Advertisement
The Mumbai Indians is a famous franchise with various leaders known as captains. These captains are like the leaders of teams who guide and make decisions during matches. Over the years, Mumbai Indians have been fortunate to have skilled and experienced captains, each contributing to the team’s achievements in their own unique way.
1. Sachin Tendulkar
Advertisement
Sachin Tendulkar was the first captain of Mumbai Indians in the first IPL, IPL 2008. Despite having a talented team, they faced many challenges and ended the season at the bottom. However, in 2009 they improved and finished in the sixth position. The real breakthrough happened in 2010 when MI performed exceptionally well and they won their first five games and reached the playoffs for the first time with Tendulkar leading. The captaincy of Sachin Tendulkar saw significant contributions from key players like Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, and Ambati Rayudu.
2. Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh was one of the second and most important captains of Mumbai Indians. He took the captaincy in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and he led the team well which made him succeed in IPL 2011 even though they could not make it to the finals yet they played well throughout the tournament. During the 2012 IPL Eliminator, Harbhajan Singh gave up the captain’s role but later led MI to their first Champions League Twenty20 trophy.
3. Shaun Pollock
Shaun Pollock became one of the third captains of Mumbai Indians in 2008, replacing Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan Singh was suspended for slapping S Sreenath in a match against King XI Punjab (Punjab Kings). He led the team well throughout the matches, but his period of captaincy was short as Sachin Tendulkar was back in the team after healing from the injury. Pollock became a great captain even after being a short-term captain.
4. Dwayne Bravo
Between 2008 and 2010, the West Indies all-rounder played for Mumbai Indians in the first three seasons of the Indian Premier League. But in 2011, he changed teams and joined Chennai Super Kings. In IPL 2010, Dwayne Bravo got a chance to be the captain of Mumbai Indians in one game when Sachin Tendulkar could not play. This made him the first West Indian to lead a team in the IPL.
5. Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting became one of the fifth captains of Mumbai Indians in 2013. In the IPL auction in 2013, he was bought by Mumbai Indians for 2.12 crore. He was the captain of the Australian Cricket team. He led the franchise for a short period. Although, he resigned in the middle of the Indian Premier League 2013 in between he made his team win three matches and the same number of defeats.
6. Rohit Sharma
In 2013, Rohit Sharma took over as captain from Ponting which marked a moment for Mumbai Indians. In the leadership of Rohit Sharma, the team found success by winning their first IPL title by defeating Chennai Super Kings. Although Harbhajan Singh led them to their initial Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) title in 2011, they secured their second through the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. Importantly, Mumbai Indians became the first team to win the CLT20 trophy twice. Mumbai Indians kept winning the match with the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, claiming trophies in 2015 and 2017. In 2019, they made history with their fourth title, being the first team to achieve three IPL championships. Despite global challenges in 2020, the captaincy of Sharma led Mumbai Indians to their fifth title which established them as the most successful team in IPL history.
7. Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard was one of the most important players of the West- Indies, and he played a key role in the success of the Mumbai Indians. In the place of Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard has been chosen for the captaincy role in the IPL 2020. The success rate of Pollard in Mumbai India is approximately around 80%, as he earlier captained the team in CLT20 2024. He also made a record as the most-capped foreign player for the franchise.
8. Surya Kumar Yadav
Surya Kumar Yadav has captained Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023 as the regular captain Rohit Sharma was unwell. He led the team well under his captaincy. Also, he played a match against KKR, which was one of the best matches proving how good Surya Kumar was as a captain.
9. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya who has been led Gujarat Titans for the last two years has joined the Mumbai Indians, as he was earlier part of Mumbai Indians now for IPL 2024 he has been appointed as the new captain of Mumbai Indians replacing the long-term captain Rohit Sharma.
Conclusion
All the respected captains of Mumbai Indians have given their efforts to make the franchise win every single time. From Sachin Tendulkar to Hardik Pandya, even if any player has had the position, they lived it and tried all possible moves to make their franchise win.
