In the Indian Premier League (IPL), the release of players can turn the relationship between franchise and players into sour. But Mitchell McClenaghan has openly expressed his happiness of sharing six years journey with Mumbai Indians after being released on Wednesday (January 20) ahead of the IPL 2021 auction.
Taking to Twitter, McClenaghan stated that he was grateful to share the amazing experience with Mumbai Indians. He added that he would miss playing for the franchise. But he ends the Tweet on a hopeful note, stating that it is not a goodbye and hopefully he will be with them again.
“What an amazing journey over the last 6 years. Grateful for some amazing experiences, lifelong friendships and Big thanks to the @mipaltan owners, management and staff to all the @mipaltan fans, I will miss you a lot It’s a See you later, not a goodbye,” he wrote on Twitter.
What an amazing journey over the last 6 years.
Grateful for some amazing experiences, lifelong friendships and ?????
Big thanks to the @mipaltan owners, management and staff ?
? to all the @mipaltan fans, I will miss you a lot ?
It’s a See you later, not a goodbye ? pic.twitter.com/dGa9pqCE93
— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) January 21, 2021
It was for the second time that MI had released McClenaghan. Ahead of IPL 2018 auction, McClenaghan was back in the auction and went unsold. He was roped in by MI as Jason Behrendorff’s replacement.
The left-arm pacer, who had first joined MI in 2015, stayed on the bench in IPL 2020 as the team management had a number of overseas options. Hence, his release didn’t surprise many. He has 71 wickets in 56 matches for MI.
Mitchell McClenaghan and four other overseas players released by MI:
Mitchell McClenaghan, who last played for New Zealand in the 2016 T20 World, only participates in franchise cricket now. Since a number of leagues were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he didn’t play a competitive game from March to December 2020. In IPL 2020, he didn’t feature in a match.
Meanwhile, apart from the Kiwi, Lasith Malinga, who has now retired from IPL, highlighted the list of released players of MI which also included James Pattinson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell McClenaghan and all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford. Uncapped players Digvijay Deshmukh and Prince Balwant Rai were also released.