Mumbai Indians will be keen to showcase their credentials after some poor seasons post their last title win (2020) in the Indian Premier League. MI finished 5th in 2021, last in 2022, playoff stage in 2023, and last in 2024. Skipper Hardik Pandya, who had a tough time as captain in IPL 2024, has his hands full. He has to deliver from the front to get this side going. Ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, MI retained 5 players Hardik, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yada,v and Jasprit Bumrah. So half of the team was already settled.
At the mega auction in Jeddah, the five-time champions roped in Trent Boult for a whopping Rs. 12.5 crore. They also shelled out a chunk of their money for Deepak Chahar, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, and Allah Ghazanfar. MI also made some smart buys with Ryan Rickelton, Reece Tople,y and Mitchell Santner in the ranks. A lot of their other purchases were uncapped Indians. MI have a big squad to work with and one hopes they come good this time around.
This is also a squad that boasts pedigree and weakness at the same time. There are a few holes and it’s something the management will want to sort out when the season begins in March. Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, we decode the strengths, weaknesses, and takeaways of MI’s 23-man squad.
Player retained by Mumbai: Jasprit Bumrah (Rs. 18 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (Rs. 16.35 crore), Hardik Pandya (16.35 crore), Rohit Sharma (Rs. 16.3 crore), Tilak Varma (Rs. 8 crore)
Players bought at the auction: Trent Boult (Rs. 12.50 crore), Naman Dhir (Rs. 5.25 crore), Robin Minz (Rs. 65 lakh), Karn Sharma (Rs. 50 lakh), Ryan Rickelton (Rs. 1 crore), Deepak Chahar (Rs. 9.25 crore), Allah Ghazanfar (Rs. 4.80 crore), Will Jacks (Rs. 5.25 crore), Ashwani Kumar (Rs. 30 lakh), Mitchell Santner (Rs. 2 crore), Reece Topley (Rs. 75 lakh), Krishnan Shrijith (Rs. 30 lakh), Raj Angad Bawa (Rs. 30 lakh), Satyanarayana Raju (Rs. 30 lakh), Bevon Jacobs (Rs. 30 lakh), Arjun Tendulkar (Rs. 30 lakh), Lizaad Williams (Rs. 75 lakh), Vignesh Puthur (Rs. 30 lakh)
Strengths of MI
MI have a powerful core in terms of retained names. Rohit Sharma remains a fan favorite and the veteran opener who will be backed for the starts. At number three, Tilak Varma is the real deal. He recently smashed three successive T20 tons, making history. He has become an integral part of the Indian cricket team squad in T20Is. India’s T20I skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, brings versatility and match-winning skills at number four. He can make all the difference with his shot-making abilities. In Hardik, MI have a desired all-rounder, who played a key role in the T20 World Cup win. He has also been playing a good brand of cricket for Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. And then, a leader with the ball – Jasprit Bumrah continues to shoulder the responsibility of providing the ammunition. These are well-oiled cricketers who boast pedigree and panache.
The 2nd major strength is the main pace attack which has a lot of versatility. Chahar brings the subtleness with his variations upfront. The former Chennai Super Kings man owns 77 scalps in the IPL, and notably, 58 of his wickets have come in the powerplay. He can give MI an ideal start. The addition of Boult will aid MI. His presence alongside Chahar make MI a deadly side in the first six overs. In his past three seasons with Rajasthan Royals, Boult claimed 45 scalps at 27.71.
Boult, who played for MI in the past, owns 38 wickets for them at 22.71. He also played for KKR, DC and SRH in the past. Overall, the Kiwi international owns 121 wickets in 104 IPL games. As per ESPNcricinfo, he has 62 power play wickets in the IPL at 27.06.
Bumrah is the champion performer and the leader of the pack. He is valuable whenever you bring him on, and his numbers in the last 4 overs are magnificent. In overs 17-20, he owns 80 scalps at just 19.5. He had a solid IPL 2024 season, taking 20 scalps at 16.80.
Another strength of this Mumbai side is the addition of Jacks and Rickelton. In Jacks, MI get an aggressive top-order batter, who will likely open alongside Rohit. In T20s, Jacks owns 4847 runs, with his strike rate being 157-plus. As an opener, the Englishman’s strike rate is close to 160. 4090 of his runs have come as an opener. Notably, 2866 of his runs have come in the first six overs (SR: 162.74). On the other hand, South Africa’s Rickelton serves as a solid backup for Jacks. The wicketkeeper batter owns 2709 runs from 100 innings.
Weaknesses of Mumbai
MI doesn’t have a strong spin unit. Karn Sharma is the leading Indian spinner in the ranks. He owns 76 scalps from 84 matches. He had an ordinary IPL 2024, where he averaged 36-plus and conceded at 10.58. From 2013-15, Karn was a regular,r but he has since then been a backup player with poor returns from the chances he has got.
Mitchell Santner has had few opportunities, playing just 18 matches in the five seasons he has featured in. He owns 15 scalps at 28.13. MI could be forced to play Santner, given the little resources in spin.
The third spin option is Ghazanfar of Afghanistan, who has had a good start to his T20 career as he averages 11.62 and his ER reads 5.71. However, he hasn’t played in the IPL and he has not made his debut in T20Is yet for the Afghans. So he is this rookie spinner who hasn’t faced the world’s best batters. This could expose him largely.
Naman Dhir was bought for a huge sum of Rs. 5.25 crore. He has played in only one season of the IPL. He scored 140 runs from 7 matches in his debut season last year. With a strike rate of 177.21, he seems as someone who can aid Pandya in that finishing role. Naman doesn’t have much experience in T20s. He has played in just 19 matches scoring 311 runs from 17 innings. He is also most likely to be an option as an impact player.
MI will be over-reliant on their three Indian quicks and Pandya. Barring these four, where is the bench strength? MI lack a quality Indian pacer as a backup. Their pace options are too raw and uncooked for this level. Similarly, in batting, they have no Indian batters as backups. Robin Minz, who is expected to have a role in the XI because of the balance, has 7 T20s under his belt.
MI probable XI for IPL 2025
Will Jacks, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Robin Minz (wk), Mitchell Santner, Allah Ghazanfar, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah.
Impact Players for MI
MI need to find the right impact players. Naman seems the ideal pick to start. If MI bat first, they can name three foreigners with Naman present. When they bowl, Ghazanfar can come in for Dhir. If they choose to play Karn ahead of Ghazanfar, then someone like Rickelton may be in the thought process. That means batters could be pushed one place below, or Jacks will be used in the middle.
Key players to watch out for
Tilak Varma: The young Indian star has all the ingredients to go big. Varma owns 3182 runs in T20s at a solid 44.81. His strike rate is 148-plus. He owns 4 tons already and has hit 158 sixes to date.
Mumbai may miss out on a playoff berth
Mumbai are a strong side with their usuals bolstering the batting and bowling. But there are big holes. There are big question marks on players like Naman and Robin, who would be needed to make an impression. The spin department lacks the wow factor. Rohit’s form of late in the IPL is a worry as well. MI can suffer if any of their star names suffer an injury. This side could finish out of the top six.