Mumbai Indians placed a bet on Hardik Pandya last year, hoping he would replicate his success with Gujarat Titans. Unfortunately, things did not work out, as the team struggled under his leadership and finished at the bottom of the IPL 2024 standings. With the IPL 2025 mega auction approaching, fans expect MI to revamp their strategy.
The issues Hardik Pandya and the Mumbai Indians faced last year were massive, ranging from a loss of the Mumbai Indians’ social media followers after Rohit Sharma was removed as captain to Hardik being booed throughout the season. This made it clear that MI fans did not accept Hardik Pandya in the captaincy role. Although he redeemed himself with a stellar performance in the T20 World Cup 2024, but it remains uncertain whether the Mumbai-based franchise will give him another chance to lead or if he will be replaced.
Players who might replace Hardik Pandya as MI captain in IPL 2025
Suryakumar Yadav
One name initially expected to take on the MI captaincy was Suryakumar Yadav. However, MI decided to make Hardik Pandya their leader for IPL 2024. Now, with Suryakumar Yadav leading the Indian cricket team in T20Is, the MI franchise may consider him for the captaincy role in IPL. While this is merely speculation, but Suryakumar Yadav is certainly could be a top contender.
Although his captaincy experience at the international level is relatively new, with just 10 matches in total and 8 wins, but this performance gives us a small not that he could also get success, similar to Rohit Sharma in the past.
Jasprit Bumrah
One interesting name that could receive the captaincy from MI is Jasprit Bumrah. Not to forget, this star pacer has expressed his interest in taking on a leadership role many times in the past. It’s important to note that when discussing Pandya’s captaincy, there is a one-year contract in place with MI, if he is not retained, the chances of Bumrah becoming captain are certainly high.
However, similar to Suryakumar Yadav, Bumrah’s captaincy experience is quite limited, with just 3 T20I and one test match under his belt. In T20I matches, team won the series against Ireland 2-0, with one game being washed out. Well there is no doubt about his potential, but whether he will be given the captaincy of Mumbai Indians will be interesting to see.
KL Rahul
Last but not least, one out-of-the-box name that MI could consider is KL Rahul. Although Rahul is currently part of the Lucknow Super Giants, reports have already started circulating that he may look to leave the team. As MI seeks to revamp its roster, they might release some big names, including Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. If reports are to be trusted, although nothing is confirmed, chances are that we may not see some big names playing for MI in IPL 2025, and many sources hint at this possibility.
If Rohit Sharma departs, the team will need an opener; if Ishan is not retained, they will also lose their wicketkeeper. In this scenario, MI could look to bring KL into the mix, as he has proven to be a valuable wicketkeeping option. If this happens, we may see some captaincy change with Rahul getting the skipper cap, having captained 64 games in the IPL with 31 wins and 31 losses. He has done a commendable job for his franchises, whether with the Punjab Kings or the Lucknow Super Giants.
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