Mumbai Indians are the most successful franchise in the history of the Indian Premier League having won the title as many as five times.
New Zealand’s veteran left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan shares a close association with IPL franchise Mumbai Indians (MI). However, the pacer isn’t plying his trade in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League as he was released by the five-time champions ahead of IPL 2021.
Mitchell McClenaghan To Auction His Cricket Gear If Mumbai Indians Finish Last
However, the left-hander has a soft corner for Mumbai Indians as throughout his stint in the extravagant cash-rich league, he represented them. Mitchell McClenaghan started his career in IPL in 2015 with MI. Though he was released by the franchise in between, he found his way back in the team. In his six-year-long stay at the Mumbai Indians, he picked up 71 wickets in 56 matches at an economy rate of 8.49.
Thus, the 34-year-old was left amused when a Twitter user stated that MI will finish at the last position in IPL 2021. On April 22, Thursday, New Zealand pacer hosted a Question and Answer (Q & A) session on his official Twitter handle. During the session, he was asked a lot of questions regarding the Indian Premier League.
Mitchell McClenaghan also came across a tweet where a Twitter user predicted the position of the defending champions in the points table in 2021. The New Zealander couldn’t help but be defensive about his former team as when a fan said that MI will finish at the eighth position, as he gave a fitting reply.
The Hastings-born reckoned that he will auction every single item from his cricket gear if MI finishes as the wooden-spooners. Currently, Mumbai Indians are 4th on the points table with 2 wins and 2 losses, with Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, and Delhi Capitals above them.
Mitchell McClenaghan asked his fans on Twitter whether they see any changed in the top 4. To which a user opined that the 5-time champions will slide down to the bottom.
The Kiwi wasn’t accepting any statements against his former side, and shut down the troll replying, “Are you dumb?”
“Again how? I’ll auction off every item of cricket gear I have for charity if they end up last” the left-hander tweeted.
https://twitter.com/Mitch_Savage/status/1385227487135731717?s=20
Are you dumb? https://t.co/z3oEdPW5Fu
— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) April 22, 2021
It was for the second time that MI had released Mitchell McClenaghan. Ahead of IPL 2018 auction, Mitchell 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.
Mumbai Indians Started With A Loss Against RCB But Won Against KKR And SRH Before Losing To DC In IPL 2021
Mumbai Indians is the most successful franchise in the history of the Indian Premier League having won the title as many as five times in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. As far as their campaign in the 2021 edition is concerned, the franchise started their run with a loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the opening game.
This was followed by the team bouncing back stronger as they won their next two matches against KKR and SRH respectively. However, in their last game against Delhi Capitals (DC), they failed to put up a comprehensive show and thus lost the match by six wickets.
Rahul Chahar is in red hot form. Whenever the skipper needs a wicket, he gets Rahul Chahar to do the job. The youngster delivers without any failure. He remains the go-to spinner in the line-up. If MI wishes to stick with the 3 foreign players formula, then Jayant Yadav is likely to get another game following his all-round show against DC. If there are any changes in the strategy, having Jimmy Neesham won’t be a bad idea.
MI Predicted XI vs PBKS: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav/ Jimmy Neesham, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah