MI All Captains List: How Many Players Have Captained Mumbai Indians in IPL?
MI have won all their trophies under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.
Mumbai Indians are arguably the most successful team in the history of the Indian Premier League. They were slow to get off the blocks in the first couple of the seasons but they soon picked up the pace and became a force to reckon with. Mumbai Indians were the side to challenge the Chennai Super Kings’ supremacy and even surpassed them over time.
Mumbai Indians are the epitome of success and have set the benchmark with five IPL titles in 15 seasons – the most by any team. Their success rate in the final is no less than astounding as the Blues have managed to win five of the six finals they have played.
Mumbai Indians began their journey in the biggest T20 carnival under the leadership of the living legend Sachin Tendulkar. However, the Mumbai-based franchise earned the most success under the captaincy of another Mumbaikar Rohit Sharma.
Here we will talk about the players who have led the Blues across the fifteen seasons of the Indian Premier League.
In this article, we will take a look at MI’s all-captains in IPL history:
Sachin Tendulkar (2008 – 2011)
The legendary Sachin Tendulkar led Mumbai Indians from 2008 to 2011. In the inaugural season, he could not lead the side in the first half of the tournament courtesy of an injury. The legendary batter failed to bring glory to Mumbai Indians under his leadership. They played only a single final under Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy and finished 5th, 7th, 2nd, and 3rd in four years.
Sachin Tendulkar decided to step down from the captaincy a few hours before the IPL 2012 and never captained the team thereafter.
Harbhajan Singh (2008 – 2012)
The off-spinner led Mumbai Indians in the first few games of the inaugural season in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar. However, he was later suspended from the tournament after slapping the pace bowler Sreesanth after a game against Kings XI Punjab.
After Sachin Tendulkar relinquished the captaincy ahead of the IPL 2022, Harbhajan Singh was handed over the captaincy duties. Mumbai Indians had a decent season as they qualified for the playoffs after finishing fourth in the points table.
Shaun Pollock (2008)
In 2008, after Harbhajan Singh got suspended after slapping S Sreesanth following a league game against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Mumbai Indians appointed the South African legend Shaun Pollock as the captain.
He led the team magnificently as the Blues won six games out of six under his captaincy before Sachin Tendulkar came back after recovering from his injury and took over the captaincy duties.
Dwayne Bravo (2010)
The West Indies all-rounder represented Mumbai Indians in the first three seasons of the Indian Premier League from 2008-2010. He then was signed by the arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2011.
In 2011, Dwayne Bravo captained Mumbai Indians for a single game in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar. In process, he became the first-ever West Indian to captain a team in the IPL.
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Ricky Ponting (2013)
The legendary Aussie skipper was appointed as the Mumbai Indians captain for the 2013 season. However, following a poor run with the bat, Ponting decided to drop himself from the playing XI and advised the team management to appoint Rohit Sharma as the next skipper.
The move changed the fortunes of the Blues as they won their first ever IPL trophy in the same season. Meanwhile, Ricky Ponting returned to the franchise in 2015 as the head coach.
Rohit Sharma (2013 – Present)
The Hitman is the most successful captain in the history of the IPL with 5 titles under his belt. The right-handed batter took over the captaincy in 2013 after the resignation of Ricky Ponting. Since then, he has transformed the team into championship contenders every season.
In a span of 8 years, Mumbai Indians won five IPL titles, including back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020. Interestingly, they have never lost an IPL final under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. However, in the last couple of seasons, the graph has gone down as Mumbai Indians have failed to qualify for the playoffs. In fact, the IPL 2022 was their worst-ever season after finishing at the bottom of the points table.
Kieron Pollard (2020)
The big West Indies all-rounder has been one of the most vital members of the successful Mumbai unit over the years. He also is the most-capped foreign player of the franchise and the 2nd-most of all time after the Hitman.
Kieron Pollard earned the right to lead the franchise during the IPL 2020 in the absence of the regular captain Rohit Sharma.
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