Dear Mumbai Indians,
“There’s a reason why Dwayne Bravo said, “I don’t want Mumbai Indians in the final, I’m scared of them.” There’s a reason why Chris Gayle said, “Stop Mumbai Indians from reaching playoffs, otherwise they won’t stop.” There’s a reason why fans of other teams celebrated Mumbai Indians’ loss more than their victory.” A simple ground behind this is what we have no one else has!
We know the last two years haven’t been kind to us, we got the wooden spoon in 2022 and our chances to qualify for the playoffs ahead of this season were second to none. 99% of the experts didn’t have us in their top 4 teams of the tournament. But we proved them wrong, which gives us immense joy and a great indication that we will be a threat in the coming years. A team, with lots of young talent, less experience, outclassed powerhouses and this is what defines us and this is how we have been.
Jasprit Bumrah injured ahead of the season, Jofra Archer struggling with his fitness and no actual superstar in the bowling lineup didn’t do any good to us. But amidst all the havoc, we found our Bumrah in Akash Madhwal, Hardik Pandya in Cameron Green, Trent Boult in Jason Behrendroff, Kieron Pollard in Tim David and not to forget our oldie, Piyush Chawla. Haha when it seems it’s enough, wait, we just made another two rockstars in Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera.
When you win people troll, when you lose people laugh. Not because we are a bad team, but because their favourite team might not achieve what we have. Winning five titles in 16 editions is by far the best and hence our title ‘Most successful team in IPL’ still will stand high even if our rivals Chennai Super Kings win this year. Your legacy Mumbai is unmatched.
We know your journey from rags to riches, from not winning a single title in the first years to winning five titles in the next eight years. The magic that you weaved around the world today is something most of the teams won’t do and is the reason why people across the globe celebrate our win despite us being part of the Indian league.
Yes, we didn’t win a trophy this year, but there was a sense of insecurity in almost every team and their fans. Even while chasing 234 runs in Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans, you kept everyone on their toes because somewhere down the bottom of our hearts we knew you might chase this as well. Because you already chased over 200 four times this season.
We don’t know what awaits us, we don’t know how long it’ll take us to win our 6th trophy but we just know that you were, you are and you will be the best. No matter what comes tomorrow, we will still stand with you. What you have given to Indian cricket is something no one can come close to. Thank you for all the memories this season, let’s scream together “Mumbai Indians, Mumbai Indians”
Yours sincerely,
A crazy cricket fan