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Jofra Archer & Richard Levi (Source: Twitter)
Mumbai Indians (MI) are one of the franchises that has produced some of the finest talents including Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. As a result of their strong scouting, the Mumbai-based franchise has managed to win five titles in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – one of the most successful franchises. They usually succeed in bringing in talented players and work exceptionally hard to nurture them for the future.
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However, sometimes strategies can go wrong and MI's think tank suffered from some miscalculation investing in the wrong players. The 2024 IPL auction set to take place on December 19, and we can expect some strategic moves from the five-time champions to grab some of the best available in the market. In this article, we take a look at MI's top 5 flop signings in IPL auction history.
5. Jofra Archer
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England speedster Jofra Archer was signed by MI in IPL 2022 auction for INR 8 crore, despite knowing that he will not be fully available for that season. The franchise invested in him for the future because of his potential, but Archer could play a handful of games the following season and make no impact. This is one of the worst acquisitions by MI in IPL history. However, the riht-arm pacer was released ahead of the 2024 IPL auction.
4. Richard Levi
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MI may have been in awe after acquiring the services of Richard Levi, the South African batter who scored the then fastest century in T20 cricket in 2012. Despite starting his IPL campaign on a high note, scoring a half-century against CSK, the right-hander failed to live-up to the expectations. The 2.5 crore signing could manage only 33 runs in the next four games.
3. Yuvraj Singh
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One of the greatest all-rounders in the history of international cricket, Yuvraj Singh has not found much success in IPL. He was bought by MI for INR 1 crore in the 2019 auction. Although the southpaw was part of the trophy-winning squad, his contribution was never the fuel for their success. Yuvi only played four matches and scored 98 runs which included one fifty. He was expected to fire-up the middle-order but it was the opposite.
2. Andrew Symonds
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Despite bagging INR 3.9 crore in the 2011 IPL auction, Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds failed to make a significant impact for MI. He managed to score just 135 runs and take a single wicket in 11 games and is considered one of the worst signings in their auction history.
1. Ricky Ponting
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It may come as a surprise to many to see the Australian legend in this list, but the fact remains that Ponting has not been a great in IPL. The Reliance Industries-owned franchise bought Ponting for Rs 2.2 crore ahead of IPL 2013 in an attempt to hand over the captaincy baton. However, he failed to repeat his international heroics as captain and batter and was forced to hand over the reins to Rohit Sharma. The right-hander managed just 52 runs in 5 matches and his strike rate was below 100 in all the matches.