Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) have always been considered as the most successful teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as both of them have won five titles each. The rivalry between the two is also so intense that it draws massive fan base and their match has also been termed as the ‘El Clasico.’
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan now believes that Mumbai Indians holds an edge in this debate. According to him one of the key reasons the team is ahead because of many Indian Team players already in the squad. Players like Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishan Kishan have all emerged from the franchise and delivered key performances for India.
“On picking the side between CSK and MI as the greatest team in the IPL, this will always be debatable. CSK started winning the IPL title from 2010 onwards. They won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011 and were the first team to do so. But when MI started winning from 2013, they kept winning after every alternate year. Then they won the IPL trophy back-to-back in 2019 and 2020,” Pathan said on JioStar.
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“But what I like about MI 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, MI had a great squad last season that could have easily won the trophy, but they couldn’t for different reasons,” he added.
“CSK don’t have four Indian captains, MI do. In that respect, assembling a team and contributing to a bigger cause, I think MI are the greatest IPL team. I know CSK will always say they are also the greatest, having won five trophies too. There is no doubt. There will always be a debate and it is a fair debate. But I think MI take the edge because they have given so many wonderful cricketers and young talents to Indian cricket,” Pathan concluded.
