Mumbai has for long been the hub of talent. We needn’t look further than greats like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. However, since 2010, there have been multiple Mumbaikars who have not only given prominence to the city, but also to the entire country.
As we bring the decade to a close and ring in the new year, let’s take a look back at the athletes who rose to fame or established dominance in their respective fields this decade.
Making his debut against Pakistan in 1989, Tendulkar has been a part of several ups and downs of Indian cricket. But the legend’s true highlight came in February of 2010 when he scored 200* against South Africa in Gwalior. India went on to win the match comfortably, Sachin Tendulkar became the first man in the history of the game to score a double century in 50 over cricket. Although the record was broken multiple times by fellow Mumbaikar Rohit Sharma, Tendulkar no doubt set the tone for the younger generation to scale new heights.
As captain of the Mumbai Indians team in the Indian Premier League for the most part of this decade, Rohit Sharma managed to make the country proud in innumerable ways. Whether it was scaling 200 against Australia or scoring double centuries twice against Sri Lanka which includes a score of 264 in 2014 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. This is the highest individual ODI score to date, with New Zealand’s Martin Guptill trailing in second place with a score of 237 against the West Indies.
Smriti Mandhana’s talents were recognized quite early which has led to a blistering career including multiple honours including the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award in 2018 as the best female cricketer of the year. She also became the youngest T20I captain for India in part due to the injury of Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain at the time. Mandhana represents Maharashtra in the domestic circuit. She is also the first Indian woman to score a double hundred in a one-day international game.
Jemimah Rodrigues is a rising star who has gained a name for herself in the cricket world thanks to shining performances with the bat for Mumbai. She was named the standout player in the Indian team by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the conclusion of the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20. Rodrigues also has the honour of being only the second Indian woman after Smriti Mandhana to score a double century in a 50-over game. She scored the double ton against Saurashtra with a score of 202 in 163 balls.
It’s still early days for this young Mumbai all-rounder, but he showed his mettle in the recently concluded T20I series against Bangladesh, helping India with the bowl as well as the bat on multiple occasions. While Dube is still some distance away from reaching the pinnacle of sporting glory, we peg Dube to be on this list over the next decade.
This young talent has the blessing of greats like Sachin Tendulkar, which one would assume should be enough to help him reach the top. However, Shaw went through a rough patch briefly this year. Fortunately, Shaw has age on his side and his talent is undeniable, which makes him one of the cricketers to watch out for over the next decade.
Felt like we missed out on any other influential names? Be sure to let us know!
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