Anil Kumble Crowns MI & CSK as IPL's Greatest, Analyzes RCB's 2025 Win

Anil Kumble, while speaking on JioStar, noted that CSK's success comes from consistent selections and relying on experienced players, while MI have excelled by discovering and developing new talent such as Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, along with emerging players like Nehal Wadhera.

Notably, both MI and CSK are the most successful teams in the league's history, with both franchises having won five titles each. "MI is very close to, or almost the same as CSK when you talk about the greatest team in the IPL, because you can't really distinguish one from the other. CSK has always been consistent with their selections. They go for people who have been there and done that. Only last year did we see a few youngsters come through," Anil Kumble said.

"Whereas MI has gone slightly out and looked at players whom nobody had seen before, some who had done well at the domestic level. So people like Hardik, Krunal and Jasprit all came through those ranks. And then we saw what happened. Recently, you had the likes of Nehal Wadhera, who has now moved to PBKS, but performed really well for MI," he added.

Speaking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru's maiden Indian Premier League title in 2025, Anil Kumble said the team's victory did not only come because of Virat Kohli but also their strong bowling unit. He highlighted the key contributions of Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma, whose performances played a crucial role in helping the team win the trophy.

While Kohli scored the most runs for RCB by amassing 657 in 15 matches, Hazlewood played a key role with the ball to help RCB clinch their first IPL trophy by claiming 22 wickets in 12 matches in the season at an exceptional average of 17.55. Krunal Pandya was also an instrumental part of RCB's bowling unit, taking 17 wickets in the season. "Virat plays a major part in RCB's success. But if you look at last year, whenever RCB were successful, their bowling unit also came to the fore. I feel Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar certainly contributed a lot. The two spinners, Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma, were also a surprise package. The bowling unit performed exceptionally well for them to win the trophy. So, I think the fans will certainly throng the Chinnaswamy Stadium to watch Virat Kohli. But I'm sure the fans will also be proud that they have a really strong bowling unit that can defend," Anil Kumble said on JioStar.

- ANI