5 Best signings by Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL history

The foundation of a T20 cricket league was laid on 13 September 2007 under the guidance of the then BCCI Vice-President – Lalit Modi. The first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off on 18th April 2008 in Bengaluru. Ever since Brendon McCullum’s ballistic ton in the first game, the IPL went on to become the most successful cricket league and is celebrated as a festival in India. It has also contributed tremendously to the success of Indian cricket.

The reason behind the success is quite simple – availability of cricket icons and immense competition. The world-class players from all around the globe take part in the IPL, which attracts the cricketing world’s attention. IPL is an excellent platform for players, especially youngsters. It offers an opportunity before them to learn and also supports the players financially.

One franchise that has been the best in scouting and nurturing the young talents, especially Indian players is Mumbai Indians (MI). The Rohit Sharma-led side is the most successful IPL team with four trophies in the cabinet. Besides nurturing the youngsters, they also support the seniors in the best way possible, which eventually benefits the team.

Here we bring you the five best signings by the Mumbai-based franchise in the IPL history:

Lasith Malinga

An all-time great bowler in shorter formats of the game, Lasith Malinga has been an asset for Mumbai Indians over the years. In his prime, Malinga, who has a slingy bowling action, is a nightmare for the batsmen. ‘Slinga Malinga’ was recruited by MI in 2008 for just 1.4 crore INR. However, he was ruled out of that edition due to knee injury.

Once the right-arm pacer donned the blue jersey of MI, he did not look back. Malinga who made his IPL debut against CSK in 2009 is the most successful bowler in the competition till date. Having featured in 122 matches, the Sri Lankan scalped 170 wickets with an economy of about 7. His average of 19.80 and strike rate of 16.62 are the best and the second-best respectively among all the bowlers who have at least 50 wickets to their name.

Malinga who is known for his toe-crusher yorkers also mentored Jasprit Bumrah and played a vital part in the latter’s success. Malinga’s best time in IPL came in 2011 when he bagged ‘Purple Cap’ for picking 22 wickets. The white-ball legend was not having a good time in IPL 2019 final as he conceded 42 runs in his first three overs. However, the 36-year-old made an excellent comeback defending just nine runs in the deciding over and proved his mettle again.