Defending champions Mumbai Indians own the record for being the most successful team in the IPL history. The Mumbai-based franchise has won four IPL trophies in 12 seasons, the most for any team. Mumbai’s auction strategy has been right on the money every year as they form an excellent squad.
Mumbai has always retained its core and swapped the misfiring players with the better options available. However, MI has not been able to sign every player they wanted as here are the five players MI wanted to sign but could not.
1.Chris Gayle
This entry will shock a few fans. Chris Gayle was on the wishlist of Mumbai Indians for the IPL Auction 2011. However, they did not bid for him as Gayle went unsold in the auction.
Later, Royal Challengers Bangalore signed him as the replacement of left-arm fast bowler Dirk Nannes. Gayle went berserk in IPL as he turned around RCB’s fortunes in that season. One can only imagine what would have happened had MI signed Gayle and he would have opened the innings for them in Wankhede Stadium.
2.David Warner
Another aggressive opener that Mumbai Indians wanted to sign but could not is David Warner. As the fans would know, Warner started his career with the Delhi Daredevils. However, the team management released him before the 2014 season.
Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad entered a bidding war to sign him in the auction. Lastly, Hyderabad won the race and the rest is history. Rohit Sharma and David Warner could have ruled the IPL as an opening pair.
3.Yusuf Pathan
Yusuf Pathan was present on the wishlist of Mumbai Indians in the 2011 auction. The Baroda-based all-rounder was eventually signed by Kolkata Knight Riders in the auction.
As Mumbai could not sign Pathan, they went for Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya in the auction, a few years later. Currently, the Pandya brothers are among the best all-rounders in the IPL.
4.Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes entered the IPL Auction in 2017 and unsurprisingly, a bidding war began between five teams to sign the English all-rounder. Mumbai Indians also tried their best to sign him.
However, the Rising Pune Supergiant managed to get the all-rounder’s services. Stokes switched to Rajasthan Royals next year and is still a part of the same team. He has not joined RR for IPL 2020 yet as he is in New Zealand. The RR team management expects Stokes to join the squad soon as he can be a game-changer for them in the UAE.
5.Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan was another player who fetched a massive price in IPL 2017. Sunrisers Hyderabad won the bidding war to sign the Englishman for the 10th season of the IPL.
However, Mumbai Indians and Hyderabad had an intense bidding war for the Afghan all-rounder. Khan had a base price of only 50 lakhs. Eventually, the Orange Army got him for a price of 4 Crores. Rashid Khan has been an asset for Hyderabad in the last three IPL seasons. He has not only evolved as a bowler but he has also improved his batting skills.
