Mumbai Indians praised for signing Tristan Stubbs after T20I stunt

Mumbai Indians (MI) received praises for signing South African Tristan Stubbs after his performance in the first T20I against England. Although England defeated South Africa, Stubbs successfully scored 72 runs off 28 balls.

Stubbs' record in the match made him the youngest cricketer in the South African team to earn a half-century in the T20I format. In addition to runs, the all-rounder made eight sixes and two fours with his batting. MI signed Stubbs to replace Tymal Mills, who recently sustained an injury.

Stubbs is relatively new in professional cricket. The 21-year-old made his international cricket debut this year. His T20I debut happened in Delhi when South Africa played India. However, Stubbs' first chance to bat for his team came in Bristol, where he broke the record. The T20I match was his third match in international innings.

South Africa has two more T20I matches against England in the series. Previously, they faced each other in a three-match ODI series that ended in a 1-1 draw as the last match was abandoned due to heavy rain.

Stubbs received praise from former players such as South Africa's Dale Steyn and England's Michael Vaughan. Steyn wrote on Twitter that "the world will be entertained" by Stubbs in ten years. Meanwhile, Vaughan said Stubbs was a "superstar in the making".

Stubbs' stats

The young cricketer first gained fame in domestic cricket in 2020. His current records are 275, 465, and 580 runs in List A, First Class, and T20, respectively. Stubbs mostly participated in Test cricket throughout his domestic career.

For the T20 category, his current strike rate is 163.84. Stubbs has also bagged 40 sixes and 27 fours in the format.

Stubbs' breakthrough in international cricket began after he participated in the 2021/22 CSA T20 Challenge. He became the second-best run-earner in the tournament with 293 from seven matches, or an average of 48.83. Stubbs also recorded a 183.12 strike rate.

Joining Mumbai Indians

In addition to Stubbs, MI bought fellow South African Dewald Brevis in the 2022 IPL auction. Brevis played in seven matches for Mumbai.

Brevis made headlines earlier this year for his performance in the ICC U-19 World Cup. The 19-year-old was the top run-scorer in the tournament.

Brevis recorded 506 runs in six innings with an average of 84.33. The right-handed batter’s strike rate during the World Cup was 90.19.

The team has a record of signing young promising players. Along with Stubbs and Brevis, they also signed Aryan Juyal, Hrithik Shokeen, and Tilak Varma. All of these players achieved significant records in either U-19 or U-23 tournaments.

Fans took to Twitter to express their support for the team. With Stubbs and Brevis on the roster for next year's IPL, they were adamant that the team had a big chance at the championship. Mumbai previously won the IPL five times but did not get to the finals in 2022.

The Mumbai team has several star players on its roster, including Indian captain Rohit Sharma and Sanjay Yadav. Fans expected the team to come back stronger in 2023 with this composition.

Gian Chacko

Sports enthusiast with love for cricket, football and sports in general. Holds 10+ years of following and writing about sports and lately also betting.