The new recruit will be the five-time champions' 'Spirit Coach'
Mumbai Indians had dropped a tiny glimpse on Wednesday that there was going to be a big announcement for the team ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
All the big stars of the team — Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Jasprit Bumrah — were seen picking up a phone receiver to inquire about the new arrival.
MI finally revealed their new recruit in the form of Bollywood star Jackie Shroff as their new ‘Spirit Coach’ for the new season. Shroff, a veteran actor famous for his roles in ‘Ram-Lakhan’, ‘Hero’, ‘Rangeela’ and many other movies is known for his quippy one-liners delivered in Mumbai slang.
His quotable zingers during press interactions have gained traction online and have been circulated heavily across social media for the past few years which have prompted big companies to include him in their advertisements.
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In the new video posted on Thursday, Mumbai Indians revealed the mysterious signing to Shroff who enters the video, spouting motivational words coined by himself while holding a plant.
He gives the five star players of the team nicknames in his own style – captain Hardik Pandya as ‘Bhai’, Suryakumar Yadav as ‘Dada’, Jasprit Bumrah as ‘Boss’, Tilak Varma as ‘Bantai’ and former skipper Rohit Sharma as ‘Bhidu’.
It seems as if MI needs the ‘Spirit’ coaching of Shroff going into the new season on the back of a horrendous campaign in IPL 2024. The team, led by new captain Hardik Pandya, finished bottom of the 10-team table after losing 10 matches and winning just four.
However, they will be banking on the form of their star players. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya are fresh off winning the Champions Trophy 2025 while Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav have starred in the recent T20I series against England while South Africa’s Ryan Rickleton, New Zealand Bevon Jacobs have all been in superb form in T20 leagues around the world.
They also have domestic players such as Punjab allrounders Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa and Karnataka keeper-batter Shrijith Krishnan in great form in their respective state leagues and in the national domestic competitions.
