Mumbai Indians have assembled a strong side for IPL 2025 but will be faced with a few question marks regarding their starting XI.
The five-time former champions Mumbai Indians have had the worst stretch of four years in their Indian Premier League history. After winning the title in 2020, they have reached the playoffs only once and have finished at the bottom of the league twice.
The previous season was a proper disaster for them, with internal conflicts and poor on-field performance. However, the new season brings a new hope and Mumbai Indians will look to not repeat the same mistakes.
The MI franchise retained Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Rohit Sharma before the mega auction. They then added some quality players to their roster, including Mitch Santner, Trent Boult, Will Jacks, and Ryan Rickelton. They had also acquired Allah Ghazanfar but he has been ruled out of the season. MI have brought in Mujeeb Ur Rahman as the replacement.
Ahead of the IPL 2025, we take a look at three key decisions Mumbai Indians will have to make in order to get the best out of their resources.
For the last four seasons, Mumbai Indians had a stable opening pair in Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. Sharma will have a new opening partnership for the IPL 2025, with Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks being the two options. Ideally, both could open together but MI moving Rohit down the order seems unlikely.
Jacks is one of the most destructive batters in the world. His overall T20 strike rate reads 156. He played eight games for RCB last year and made 230 runs at 175 strike rate, including a century. But Jacks failed to reach the 15-run mark in five games.
Rickelton, on the other hand, has shown great consistency. He has piled on 866 runs in the last two SA20 seasons at an average of 54 and strike rate of 175.7. Rickelton also solves the wicketkeeper slot and gives them left-right combination at the top.
#Betway #SA20 Merch is still up for grabs – 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 🔗 https://t.co/lgr3pDyhso
— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) April 17, 2024
Ryan Rickelton was destructive all season long, eventually topping the run-scorers list 🚀 pic.twitter.com/dXQab3LEXg
Looking at the overseas options, Trent Boult, Ryan Rickelton, and Mitch Santner should be certainties in the Mumbai Indians starting XI. The fourth spot could depend on other factors such as conditions and opponents.
For home conditions at the Wankhede, having two overseas spinners doesn’t give much value. Jacks would be a great option to have in the side on a good batting surface and he can be flexible.
For away games at the Chepauk and Lucknow, where spinners get good assistance, Mumbai Indians can play both Santner and Mujeeb. Playing Mujeeb would also be a good strategic move against left-hand heavy sides.
The lack of quality spin options has been an issue for Mumbai Indians over the years. They seem to be committed to changing that equation.
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Jasprit Bumrah is the most valuable player in the Mumbai Indians side and he makes them one of top contenders to win the title. But without him, their bowling attack would not be the same. Bumrah was ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 due to back injury and there is a good possibility he might not be fully fit for the first half of the IPL 2025.
If Bumrah misses a few games in the season, Mumbai Indians will have to restructure their line-up. Apart from Bumrah, their other pace options are Boult, Deepak Chahar, Arjun Tendulkar, Reece Topley, Lizaad Williams. Of those, Boult and Chahar would be certain starters. Williams is yet to recover from an injury and his participation is under doubt.
In Bumrah’s absence, MI might have to play two overseas pacers, sacrificing an overseas batting slot or a spin option. How they adapt in this situation will be critical for their IPL 2025 title hopes.
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