“Floods My Heart,” Robin Uthappa Has Emotional Reaction to $108 Million Franchise’s Heart-Warming Throwback

Mumbai Indians, Robin Uthappa’s debut franchise, was the first team valued over $100 million, and is the league's joint-most successful side.

“Floods My Heart,” Robin Uthappa Has Emotional Reaction to $108 Million Franchise’s Heart-Warming Throwback

Robin Uthappa was moved by Mumbai Indians' social media post on the 2008 IPL season. (via Circle of Cricket)

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January 24th marks the foundation day for the five-time IPL champions, Mumbai Indians. To celebrate this, the franchise posted a throwback video on social media featuring their squad from the inaugural season, a gesture that moved former player Robin Uthappa.

As one of the original eight teams from 2008, the Mumbai-based franchise was purchased by Reliance Industries Ltd. for $111.9 million, making it the most expensive team sold at that time. MI secured its first IPL title in 2013, followed by wins in 2015 and 2017. Mumbai Indians reached its peak success in 2019-2020 when they became the second team, after CSK, to successfully defend their IPL title.

However, MI’s journey to becoming a dominant team started with an unsuccessful season in 2008, where they failed to qualify for the playoffs. Even with a squad featuring high-profile players in 2008, including ‘Icon Player’ Sachin Tendulkar and other prominent names like Sanath Jayasuriya, Harbhajan Singh, Shaun Pollock, Lasith Malinga, and Ashish Nehra, the franchise failed to qualify for the knockout stage.

In celebration of its January 24th Foundation Day, MI posted a throwback video on social media. The clip commemorated a grand event in Mumbai in April 2008, where the first squad was unveiled, and the team’s iconic blue colors and crest were launched. It also showed a glimpse of the song ‘Duniya Hila Denge Hum’, which was Mumbai’s 2008 theme song performed by Vijay Prakash, featuring Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan.

The throwback video shared by the franchise left former Indian wicket-keeper Robin Uthappa emotional. He reflected on his time with the franchise in 2008, saying the clip brought back fond memories. A young Uthappa was acquired by the Reliance-owned franchise for $800,000. In his first season, he scored an impressive 320 runs in 14 matches with an average of 35.55 and a strike-rate of 114.69, before being traded to RCB the following season.

He wrote on X:

That’s quite a throwback!! Floods my heart and mind with emotions and memories!! Thank you for sharing this!!

Additionally, the MI video featured players seeking the blessings of the celebrated Indian cricket coach, Ramakant Achrekar. Having passed away in 2019, he was best known for having mentored numerous Indian cricketing stars, including Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, and Ajit Agarkar.

Suryakumar Yadav’s Raipur brilliance against New Zealand follows advice he received from Robin Uthappa

Just a week after being advised by Robin Uthappa, Suryakumar Yadav played a masterclass innings against New Zealand. The Indian T20I captain scored an unbeaten 82 runs off just 37 balls in the second T20I of the five-match series, at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur.

Robin Uthappa on Suryakumar Yadav
Following Robin Uthappa’s advice, Suryakumar Yadav hit a superb knock for India, against New Zealand. (via News 18)

Yadav has struggled with form over the past year, having failed to record even a single 50+ score in 21 T20Is in 2025. He only scored 218 runs at an average of 13.62 and a low strike-rate of 123.16, raising questions over his place in the team. Robin Uthappa had urged Yadav not to shuffle himself in the batting order too much, believing that constant changes were contributing to his lack of runs.

The advice seems to have paid off with the veteran T20I batter having shifted to the no.4 position, behind Ishan Kishan in the playing XI for the ongoing New Zealand series. He scored 32 runs off 22 balls in the opening match in Nagpur, and followed it up with a remarkable 82 off 37 in the second. Yadav’s innings came at a crucial juncture for Team India, chasing down a massive 209-run target in just 15.2 overs.

Surya shouldn’t shuffle his batting order too much. Constant movement across positions has resulted in a shortage of runs. Stability will help.

The standout moment of Suryakumar Yadav’s innings in Raipur was the ninth over, where he scored 25 runs off Zakary Foulkes. He struck four consecutive boundaries on the first four balls of the over, and then concluded it with a six on the sixth delivery.

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