IPL 2020: 3 players who could come back to Mumbai Indians this season

Playing for Mumbai Indians is always an honour for any cricketer. The franchise is not only the most successful franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with four titles under their belt; they also have a wonderful culture and an exciting home ground in Wankhede where the atmosphere is always electric.

There are some players who featured for MI in the initial years of the IPL and performed well for them before moving to the other franchises. However, some of them are back in the market again this year and they can still bring a lot of value to the table.

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Mumbai Indians, unlike some of the other franchises, are not going into the IPL auction with a huge budget, but they have enough money in the purse to buy one or two quality players and it’s possible that they opt to go after a couple of their old players.

Here are the 3 players who could come back to MI this season

#1 Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell was with Mumbai Indians in 2013 and he played few handy cameos for them. The Aussie all-rounder is currently out of the game because of mental health issues. However, it has been reported that he is recovering from his illness and should be back in action soon.

Maxwell had withdrawn himself from the IPL last year to prepare for the World Cup, but he is available in the auction this year and it won’t be surprising if there is a fierce bidding war for the 31-year old.

His game is ideally suited for T20 cricket and he has delivered for all the IPL franchises he has played for so far. Maxwell’s strike rate of 161.13 while scoring 1397 runs in 69 games speaks volumes of his abilities with the bat. Mumbai Indians might just be interested in buying Maxwell back.

#2 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa had started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians before moving to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009. He was one of the consistent performers for MI during the only season he spent with them. The right-hander scored more than 300 runs in 14 games at an average of over 35.

Uthappa is an all-time IPL legend as he is amongst the top 10 leading run-scorers in the history of the tournament. He might be past his peak and not as effective as he once was, but he is still good enough to get the job done.

MI might consider Uthappa’s name as he can provide solidity to their middle order. He can be brought in as a back-up option for the young Ishan Kishan.

Ishan is an exciting talent, but he has been inconsistent in the IPL so far. If MI wants to have somebody who is more dependable than Ishan, Uthappa could well be their man.

#3 Martin Guptill

Martin Guptill

Martin Guptill had been bought by Mumbai Indians in 2016, but he didn’t get too many playing opportunities. He played just 3 games for the current IPL champions and scored 48 runs at a strike rate of 103.64.

The New Zealand opener has remained deprived of regular playing opportunities at all the IPL franchises he has been a part of so far.

Even during the last season at Sunrisers Hyderabad, Guptill was a back-up for Jonny Bairstow and got to play only when the Englishman returned for national duty.

In the 3 games that he played in IPL 2019, Guptill looked impressive as his strike rate was over 150. SRH, however, didn’t retain him and he is up for sale again. MI might think about having Guptill back in the squad as a reserve opener.

Guptill’s IPL numbers might not be that impressive, but he has got a fantastic record in T20 internationals. He has scored 2436 runs in 83 games for the Blackcaps at an average of 33.37 and a strike rate of 134.59.