IPL: No. of matches played by Mumbai Indians players for Team India

‘Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi.’ These words are beautifully crafted on the IPL trophy in golden letters. The above text is derived from Sanskrit and means ‘Where talent meets opportunity’. While it is important to have star players to run a league on such a massive scale, there is also young, budding talent that finds an important place in the Indian Premier League. Many players from across the globe have made IPL a platform to make it to their national teams. 

While players from various IPL teams played for India, the Mumbai Indians team contributed quite a few. Also, the franchise has identified the right kind of talent from the domestic cricket and gave them the best possible opportunities. From Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma to strike-bowler Jasprit Bumrah, all hail from the Mumbai franchise.

The Mumbai boys in the Indian team

The number of matches Mumbai Indian players played for India over the last five years has been quite significant. Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, a majority of CSK’s players found a spot in the national squad. CSK players were picked in the Indian team 89 times between 2012 and 2015 across formats in all the tournaments. After Virat Kohli took over, his RCB teammates were picked in the Indian team in various series 45 times in just 2016 and 2017. Bangalore’s representation has increased phenomenally in the last two years.

While it has been a norm that the skippers’ IPL teammates get to feature more in team India, Mumbai Indians is an aberration. On an average, Bangalore and Mumbai accounted for almost half the Indian squad in many of the tournaments in 2017.  Mumbai Indians has consistently been sending at least three players to the national team since 2010. The side is a strong force to reckon with in the IPL and its players were picked in the Indian squad 101 times between 2012 and 2017.

The MI team is a strong force to reckon with in the IPL

The legendary Sachin Tendulkar, skipper Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and many others hail for the Mumbai team. Mumbai Indians has been prolific in sending many of its new and young talents to the national side. Bumrah evolved to be an integral part of the Indian bowling lineup and already has 119 international scalps to his name. His counterpart Hardik Pandya is an important member of the side and is a very handy all-rounder.

The trio of Rohit, Pandya, and Bumrah alone played was picked 36 times in the last two years. Mumbai Indians is a significant contributor in sending players to the Indian team alongside Sunrisers Hyderabad. Moreover, all the other four IPL teams failed to send as many players and will want to take insights from the Mumbai team. In the current MI squad, Krunal Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav would be the two players to watch out for. They could well represent the team in the near future.

Table: Matches played by MI players for the Indian team (year-wise)

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