IPL: 3 players MI have groomed for the Indian cricket team

The Mumbai Indians (MI) are the most decorated team in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Led by the calm and composed Rohit Sharma, they have won the IPL crown four times.

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IPL players MI have groomed for Indian cricket

We've always recognised & groomed young talent! Let's welcome Kulwant Khejroliya to #MI, who we've bought for INR 10 Lakhs. #IPLAuction https://t.co/qBIFWx3Ksd

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) February 20, 2017

In the process, MI have played a major role in the rise of many young players.

Cricketers like Mayank Markande and Rahul Chahar burst onto the national scene after their performances for the side in the IPL, while all-rounder Krunal Pandya made his debut for India after a couple of excellent seasons in the world's most prestigious franchise league.

In this article, we take a look at 3 players who owe their Indian careers to the Mumbai Indians.

Honourable Mentions: Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya

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#3 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu played for MI for 8 years in the IPL before shifting to the Chennai Super Kings

Ambati Rayudu hasn't had the most storied international career, but the middle-order batsman was part of the Indian team for the 2015 World Cup and has played many a good knock for the national side.

After his career was damaged by his participation in the rebel Indian Cricket League, he redeemed himself with consistent (and highly underrated) performances for MI in the IPL. In 114 games for the Maharashtra franchise, Rayudu scored 2,416 runs with 14 fifties to his name.

The right-hander made his debut for India in 2013 against Zimbabwe, 3 years after his IPL debut. Rayudu averages around 47 after 55 ODIs for the country, and has scored 3 centuries and 10 fifties.

Although the 34-year-old currently doesn't feature for India, he owes a large part of his international career to MI, for they groomed him to become the player he is.

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#2 Hardik Pandya

IPL superstar Hardik Pandya is India's greatest pace bowling all-rounder since the great Kapil Dev

Hardik Pandya is one of MI's greatest success stories. The Baroda all-rounder burst into recognition in IPL 2015 with an attacking fifty against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

With India lacking a pace bowling all-rounder for decades, he was fast-tracked into the national side, and made his T20I debut in January 2016 and his ODI debut in October 2016. Although his credentials in the longest format of the game have been questioned, Pandya has scored 4 fifties and 1 hundred in Tests, and even took a 5-wicket haul in England.

The 26-year-old has played 66 matches for MI, and has scored 1,068 runs and picked up 42 wickets. Pandya is also electric in the field and has played a major role in some of India's most famous wins, such as the T20 World Cup escape against Bangladesh.

He is one of the first names on the MI and Indian team-sheets, alongside captain Rohit Sharma and.....

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#1 Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah's rise to superstardom has coincided with that of his IPL teammate Hardik Pandya's

When Jasprit Bumrah made his IPL debut for MI against RCB in the 2013 edition of the tournament, his unorthodox action and lean build made critics doubt whether his body could take the rigours of fast bowling. But the Gujarat pacer picked up the wicket of Virat Kohli en route to a 3-wicket haul, and has silenced all his critics and proven to be one of the world's best bowlers, even in Tests, since.

Possessing the best yorker in world cricket at the moment, Bumrah has everything a bowler could possibly ask for, and even recently developed an out-swinger that defies the physics of his action. The 26-year-old is the top 10 of the ICC bowlers rankings in both Tests and ODIs, and is the leading wicket-taker for India in T20I cricket.

Bumrah is lethal at any stage of the innings, and his rich IPL form has translated into him becoming India's lead pacer. The Mumbai Indians think tank certainly spotted one of the greatest talents the world has ever seen, and the Indian cricket team will forever be indebted to the IPL franchise for producing Bumrah.

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