After a below par IPL 2024 season, Mumbai Indians, five-time Indian Premier League champion, would love to bounce back in the upcoming season. They have made some bold statements in the Mega Auction, which was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. MI management has retained their skipper Hardik Pandya, their former captain Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, who is the captain of team India for the T20 format, Jasprit Bumrah, under whose captaincy India got victory in the first match of the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy, and the young lad Tilak Varma. The five retained players have high chances to feature in the first eleven—Rohit to open, Yadav and Varma in the middle order, Pandya in the lower-middle order, and Bumrah to be the leader of MI’s bowling troop.
Rohit Shamra can pair with Will Jacks to open the innings. Australian Will Jacks had made some impressive batting display with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2024, where he scored an unbeaten century. The all-rounder scored 32.86 runs on average in 8 matches and took two wickets with the ball. An informed ‘Ro-Will’ has the potential to turn into a nightmare for the opposition team bowlers.
Mumbai Indians middle order can heavily rely on Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. Varma, one of the brightest prospects in Indian cricket and also a fan favorite, will be exciting to watch in the IPL 2025. The left-handed all-rounder from Hyderabad has spent one of his best IPL seasons in 2024. Despite Mumbai Indian’s poor Performance as a team in that season, Verma had shown his capabilities with the bat. In 2024, the middle-order explosive batter has scored 416 runs in 13 matches with an average of 41.60.
Naman Dhir can be an ‘x’-factor in the Mumbai Indians batting order; With his hard-hitting batting style, Naman has the ability to turn the table for the team. Despite his unimpressive batting average, which is 23.33 in seven matches he played, Dhir’s 177.22 strike rate and an unbeaten 62-run innings were enough to show his talent in the previous IPL season.
It will be interesting to see who will be with the wicketkeeping gloves in the blue and gold jersey on the field. Several cricket fans have already opted to go with Ryan Rickelton. But the South African’s form has not been so impressive against Bangladesh in recent times. Along with Naman Dhir, another x-factor in the team can be Bevon Jacobs. Mumbai Indians has brought the 22-year-old Aussie into their squad with just Rs 33 lakh. Jacobs has an impressive run in domestic cricket and has a hundred and fifties under his belt.
But Pandya will be at the center of the stage. Despite his tumultuous time off or on the field, he has hinted to comeback in his natural form during his national duties. Pandya’s chemistry with Suryakumar Yadav during India’s tour of South Africa had caught the eyes of the cricket fans.
As Mumbai Indians squad loaded with all-rounders, they will have the advantage of a deep-rooted batting line-up. Mitchell Santner, Karn Sharma, or even Deepak Chahar can contribute with bath as well. New Zealand veteran Trent Boult can pair create a bond with Bumrah with the new ball in hand.
Mumbai Indians Probable XI for IPL 2025:
Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell Santner, Karn Sharma/Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, and Jasprit Bumrah.
MI IPL 2025 Squad:
Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, 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).
