Mumbai Indians (MI) have their work cut out for them. In about three weeks, they’ll have to sit at the auction table and somehow manage to buy 19 players for just Rs 45 crore. Their batting is more or less covered. But it’s their bowling that needs to be reinforced. We saw they hit big runs in the last season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), but they conceded them even more quickly.
MI, too batting heavy
If they wish to not end IPL 2025 at the bottom, they’ll need to find a couple of partners for Jasprit Bumrah. Of course, doing it under a budget won’t be easy, but with smart planning, they can build a team around Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Bumrah.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that bowling will help MI win, and he suggests they’ll go after quality spinners. They’ve had some quality spinners in the past, but 35-year-old Piyush Chawla won’t do. They instead have to invest in some top-class domestic/Indian turners who can serve them at least until the next IPL mega auction.
“Their batting has become strong once again. The problem is that they have only one bowler, who is a four-over bank, but you need more bowlers. Bowling let them down last time as well. They used to score runs, 225 to 250, but used to concede that many as well,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chahal’s comeback at MI?
The cricketer-turned-commentator suggested two spinners whom MI will target, Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar. The leggie was released by the Rajasthan Royals and has already played for MI. In fact, Chahal made his IPL debut at the franchise under Rohit Sharma in 2013. As for Washington, he has been underutilised at the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the last three seasons and would perfectly with his all-rounder skills at MI.
“So they had so much overdependence on the batting to fire, and scoring 20-40 runs above par every time is a bit too much. They might have an entire Indian batting lineup and an overseas bowling lineup, with a couple of Indian spinners. They will definitely go after Yuzvendra Chahal. I don’t know whether they will get him or not. They might want to keep Washington Sundar,” he added,
MI retention list for IPL 2025
Retention No. 1 (Rs 18 crore) – Jasprit Bumrah
Retention No. 2 (Rs 16.35 crore) – Hardik Pandya
Retention No. 3 (Rs 16.35 crore) – Suryakumar Yadav
Retention No. 4 (Rs 16.30 crore) – Rohit Sharma
Retention No. 5 (Rs 8 crore) – Tilak Varma
Purse left – Rs 45 crores
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