Irfan Pathan picks MI as the best team (Image Credit: ANI) Former India paceman Irfan Pathan has said that Mumbai Indians (MI) have an edge over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the debate about the best Indian Premier League (IPL) team, citing the former’s role in helping to deliver match-winners for the Indian team.
MI vs CSK Debate: Pathan picks his side
“Picking a side between CSK and MI as the best team in IPL will always be debatable. CSK started winning the IPL title from 2010. They won the titles back-to-back in 2010 and 2011 and were the first team to do it. But when MI started winning from 2013, they won even after every other year 20-1-9. 2020,” said Irfan Pathan.
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“MI gave India more match winners”
“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 grow your franchise. Second, you deliver results with the team you have. Even now MI had a great team last season that could have easily won the trophy but they couldn’t for other reasons.” “CSK doesn’t have four Indian captains, MI does. In that respect, building the team and contributing to a bigger cause, I think MI are the best IPL team. I know CSK will always say they are the best too because they have also won five trophies. No doubt. There will always be a debate and it’s a fair debate. But I think MI have an edge because they have given so much great Indian talent and talent.” Jio Star.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is facing a crucial IPL 2026 season
He also talked about how the 2026 IPL season will be a crucial learning phase for teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The left-hander became the fastest Indian batsman to reach a century in IPL in just 35 balls last year and has been retained by Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of IPL 2026.Sooryavanshi also comes to be the player of the tournament and player of the final in the 2026 Men’s Under-19 World Cup, which was won by India. “This IPL season will be a learning experience for Vaibhav Suryavanshi. He played in the tournament last year, he played domestic cricket and he plays cricket everywhere in all formats.“He played in the Under-19 World Cup, participated in the Ranji Trophy with Bihar and scored everywhere. In white-ball cricket and red-ball cricket, everyone takes notice of him. The bowlers do the same. Since he has played so much cricket since his IPL debut last year, other players watch his videos and analyze his weaknesses,” he said.
Opposition bowlers have targeted weaknesses
Pathan signed off saying that it would be interesting to see if Sooryavanshi improves his game as the opposition bowlers target his weaknesses. “So he needs to find a way to upgrade his game and work on his weaknesses. He has easily smashed centuries in all forms of cricket. When you do that consistently, not just in the IPL but also in domestic cricket, under-19 cricket and the new games, your confidence will keep getting higher.”
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“In this IPL season, all the bowlers will be ready with their strategies and Vaibhav will be looking to prove a point. He can do it by hitting another hundred in IPL. If he scores consistently this season, we can say that Vaibhav Suryavanshi has upped his game.”
