Looking at the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL), there were two different countries who got into the business to further improve their cricket, the South Africa with their SA20 League and the UAE with their International League T20 (ILT20).
The International League T20 (ILT20) includes a total of 6 teams in the competition, 3 of them being owned by the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams. One of them is the Mumbai Indians owned MI Emirates.
MI Emirates reached the qualifiers of the International League T20 (ILT20) inaugural edition where they lost to the Gulf Giants, the eventual winners of the tournament. They finished 3rd in the points table and would look to improve their performance next season.
As such, they need to make some changes in the team. Today in this article, we take a look at 5 players MI Emirates may release ahead of the ILT20 2024 edition.
Najibullah Zadran
The Afghanistan international middle-order left-hand batsman Najibullah Zadran was a huge disappointment for the MI Emirates. Zadran is a very experienced player having played numerous matches for the Afghanistan team. He featured in 7 matches for the Emirates and scored only 66 runs with a strike rate 153 though. He might be let go of before the ILT20 in 2024.
Lorcan Tucker
Another MI Emirates player who may leave the team before the International League T20 (ILT20) in 2024 is Ireland’s Lorcan Tucker. Tucker is a 26-years-old wicketkeeper batsman from Ireland. Much was expected from him, but he failed to deliver that as he scored 85 runs in 5 matches with a strike rate of just 119.
Samit Patel
England’s veteran slow left-arm orthodox bowler Samit Patel is another name who may not be a part of the MI Emirates in the ILT20 2024 edition. Patel, 38-years-old, played only 2 matches for the side and took 2 wickets. With his age as a concern, the team may look at a new option next year.
Dwayne Bravo
Another getting old player in this list is veteran West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. Bravo is one of the best all-rounder ever to play the game. Despite him having a great ILT20 season with the MI Emirates, Bravo is currently 39-years-old and thus, there are chances that Bravo may even retire and not feature for the team in the ILT20 2024.
Imran Tahir
Another veteran bowler who was part of the MI Emirates team in the ILT20 2023, the inaugural edition is the South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir. Tahir have had a glorious career, but at the age of 43, soon to be 44, he is currently going backwards in his career. He picked 8 wickets in 9 matches in ILT20 2023 when one would expect him to take more than the number of matches he has played. He could be another player who may leave MI Emirates.