The Indian Premier League (IPL) will complete 15 years this year, a spell that has seen talismanic captains proving their mettle, lesser-known players making it big, and stars leaving behind their legacy. The lucrative T20 league has unearthed many stars as well. But above all, the league has played a pivotal role in improving the cricket structure and eventually establishing itself as favourite place of every sprouting cricketer.
In its journey so far, the IPL has witnessed the burgeoning of two teams. While Mumbai Indians have won the title five times, Chennai Super Kings flaunt four IPL trophies in their cabinet. Mumbai (58.52) and Chennai (60.56) also have an impressive win percentage but the one common thing between the two sides is the presence of talismanic leaders.
Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni have been exceptional while captaining Mumbai and Chennai respectively. And when the Mumbai-based outfit asked about the two skippers who can lead the teams in an IPL All-Star game, veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh named Rohit & Dhoni as the captaincy alternatives. Rohit tops the list of most successful IPL captains with five titles under his belt, followed by Dhoni who has four pieces of silverware.
"If IPL had an All Star game, what would be the two teams & who would be the two captains?" asked Mumbai Indians on Twitter. Harbhajan responded with, "MSD and ROHIT captains".
{{/usCountry}}"If IPL had an All Star game, what would be the two teams & who would be the two captains?" asked Mumbai Indians on Twitter. Harbhajan responded with, "MSD and ROHIT captains".
{{/usCountry}}Both Mumbai and Chennai made some big purchases in the recent IPL auction. While Mumbai added a couple of new names to their roster, Chennai retained its core. Five-time champions MI picked Ishan Kishan for a whopping ₹15.25 crore on the opening day of the event, and later shelled out ₹8 crore to rope in England pace sensation Jofra Archer.
The MI think-tank broke free to rope in finisher Tim David for ₹8.25 crore, another England pacer in Tymal Mills, for ₹1.5 crore and Australian fast bowler Riley Meredith for ₹1 crore. Mumbai had earlier retained skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard.
Talking about CSK's buys, the four-time champions bought back Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, and Dwayne Bravo, who had played major roles in their title-winning season in 2021. They had retained Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the auction.
While CSK couldn’t bring back former South Africa batter Faf du Plessis, they snapped up some new faces. Devon Conway was signed by the franchise alongside the likes of all-rounders Shivam Dube and Dwaine Pretorius.