Former Indian Cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has ranked the five-time champions Mumbai Indians as the top team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and acknowledged their constant success against all IPL teams. The Mumbai Indians’ success in the cash-rich league is linked to a well-balanced team, brilliant auction strategies, and domestic scouting methods.
Mumbai Indians has been known for nurturing young players and building a winning culture, which has set them apart from other teams, with key players stepping up for the team and consistently providing exceptional performances. The five-time winners’ excellence not only cements their legacy as IPL greats but also displays their capacity to thrive in competitive T20 cricket.
Speaking on Star Sports during the MI vs CSK Ultimate Team debate, Sanjay Manjrekar emphasized Mumbai Indians’ overall dominance over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL Knockout matches, highlighting their record against each of the other IPL teams, where they have a 50% win percentage over others, and asserted that the five-time champions have IPL greats in their teams who have played for the side over the last 15 years.
“One thing you have to say is Mumbai Indians are not just a champion team on the big stage. When it comes to CSK versus Mumbai Indians, you see the playoffs and finals as well, Mumbai Indians have beaten CSK. But overall, in the IPL when you look at all teams, nine teams, which team has the best record against all teams? Mumbai Indians. Over 50% win percentage. CSK is good, but they haven’t beaten all other teams as thoroughly as Mumbai Indians have.”
“When you talk about IPL greats, who do you think of? Rohit Sharma, Pollard, you think of Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Suryakumar Yadav. All of them are part of Mumbai Indians, so when you think of Mumbai Indians you think of superstars. A bit like our city, Mumbai city, which is filled with superstars. That is what Mumbai Indians is. The brand as well,” Sanjay Manjrekar said.
The Mumbai Indians have been a consistent force in the Indian Premier League, winning five championships and reaching the playoffs on several occasions. Over the years, the Mumbai-based franchise has brought out the best in Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, and Kieron Pollard in the game’s shorter format.
One Of The Talents That Came Through By Scouting Was Jasprit Bumrah – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar discussed the importance of talent scouting for the Mumbai Indians, naming John Wright, as the primary talent scout responsible for unearthing talents such as Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav and hailed the team’s ability to transform young players into valuable contributors.
“We have John Wright, who was India’s coach and he took India to the next level post-2000, and he’s our main talent scout. And one of the talents that came through by scouting was Jasprit Bumrah, turned out to be an ‘okay!’ player, Hardik Pandya, another talent scout discovery, and now Suryakumar Yadav, who was in KKR, but Mumbai Indians scouted him, and found a way to make him better, and now we have Tilak Varma,” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
MI’s scouting team has been very successful in identifying talents like Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya, Nitish Rana, and Rahul Chahar. Talents such as Tilak Verma, Nehal Wadhera, and Dewald Brevis have already proven that they will be the talk of the town in the future years.