In recent years, Mumbai Indians have steadily established themselves as the team to beat in IPL, thanks to the presence of several world-class players. Mumbai Indians are famous for their ability to extract the best out of young talents who have very little experience of playing cricket at the highest level. However, even they have let go of several future superstars who played only one IPL game for MI.
Some veterans today were not given enough opportunities by MI in the past but went on to play many more IPL games for other franchises. A few players could not find any success with other franchises too. In this article, we will look at four popular players who played only one IPL game for MI.
#4 Andre Nel
Throughout the course of their history, MI has been home to several overseas fast bowlers. In 2008, Mumbai had the legendary Shaun Pollock in its ranks but the less recognized protea was Andre Nel. For a brief time in his career, Nel was a consistent pick in the South African XI, but his infamous disciplinary record limited his opportunities.
Nel featured in the 50th game of IPL 2008 against Delhi Daredevils. He was taken for runs in the powerplay but dismissed Gambhir early in the chase. He bowled the penultimate over of the match and conceded just eight runs, but MI failed to win the game. His bowling figures read 1/31 in 3 overs and this is Nel.
#3 Stuart Binny
In 2010, Binny was not a recognized all-rounder, and expectedly he only got one opportunity to play in the IPL. He featured for MI against Kolkata Knight Riders in a low scoring game. When Binny came out to bat, MI were reeling at 111 for 6. Binny scored just eight runs before being dismissed by Ashok Dinda.
He bowled only one over in the chase and conceded nine runs. He was released by MI at the end of the campaign and enjoyed decent success as a finisher for Rajasthan Royals. He has played 95 matches in the IPL and has scored 880 runs at a strike rate of 128.84.
#2 Jacob Oram
Oram was a constant presence in the New Zealand limited-overs team for several and was a reliable medium-pacer who can also bat. Oram started his IPL career with CSK but ahead of the 2013 IPL, Mumbai Indians bought the Kiwi all-rounder for $50,000.
Oram featured in only one IPL game for MI in 2013, in a low scoring thriller against RCB. He bowled four overs and conceded just 22 runs. He did not bat in the game and MI lost by two runs. This game is also remembered for the debut of Jasprit Bumrah who picked up three wickets, including that of Virat Kohli.
#1 Yuzvendra Chahal
Not many know that RCB’s greatest bowler was once part of the Mumbai Indians setup. He only played one IPL game for MI, in 2013 against Kolkata Knight Riders. Chahal bowled his full quota of overs and conceded 34 runs without picking any wicket. The presence of two leading Indian spinners at that time, Ojha and Harbhajan Singh, meant that Chahal could not get another opportunity.
MI’s loss was RCB’s gain as Chahal went on to establish a legacy for himself at RCB. He is now widely regarded as India’s best spinner in limited-overs and still has time to create more records in the IPL.
