Former Team India all-rounder Irfan Pathan shared his opinion on the ongoing debate about the greatest team ahead of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pathan placed Mumbai Indians (MI) slightly ahead of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) due to his contribution to the Indian national team.
MI and CSK are the two most successful teams in the league, having won five titles each in 18 seasons. While Super Kings have reached the playoffs 15 times, Mumbai has made it to the playoffs 11 times. CSK last won the title in 2023, while MI won their most recent trophy in 2020.
Irfan Pathan chose the “greatest team in IPL history”
During a discussion on JioStar, Irfan Pathan admitted that both the teams have had a golden era in the IPL. However, he picked MI over CSK as the greatest team in the league.
“Choosing a side between CSK and MI as the greatest team in the IPL, it will always be a matter of debate. CSK started winning IPL titles since 2010,” Pathan said.
“They won consecutive titles in 2010 and 2011 and were the first team to do so. But when Mumbai Indians started winning from 2013, they kept winning after every alternate year. Then they won consecutive IPL trophies in 2019 and 2020,” he said.
Chennai Super Kings won consecutive titles in 2010 and 2011. Meanwhile, the Hardik Pandya-led team started winning in alternate years from 2013 and later successfully defended their title in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
What I like about Mumbai Indians is their contribution to Indian cricket – Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan highlights MI’s exceptional scouting system. The franchise consistently identifies and nurtures raw young talent, who go on to become reliable match-winners for India. Pathan also said that Mumbai could have won the trophy last year.
“What I love about Mumbai is their contribution to Indian cricket. The number of match-winners they have produced for the Indian team is absolutely tremendous. How do you achieve that? First, you make your franchise big. Second, you deliver results with the team you have. Even now, Mumbai Indians had a great team last season that could have easily won the trophy, but they couldn’t do it for different reasons.”
He has given a lot of amazing young talent to Indian cricket – Irfan Pathan
Mumbai Indians have nurtured Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, all of whom have captained the Indian team in different formats. In contrast, Chennai Super Kings have only named MS Dhoni as the Indian captain.
“CSK doesn’t have four Indian captains, but Mumbai Indians do. In that regard, assembling a team and contributing to a bigger cause, I think Mumbai Indians is the greatest IPL team,” Pathan said.
“I know CSK will always say that they are also great, they have won five trophies too. There is no doubt about that. There will always be a debate and it is a fair debate. But I think Mumbai Indians take the edge because they have given a lot of amazing cricketers and young talent to Indian cricket.”
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