Each Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise has assembled their team. Barring injury replacements, no changes are expected to be made. The player trading window isn’t open either. But what if hypothetically it was open? And that too for just one player? What changes would franchises have made before the IPL 2025 season? An ideal change for two of the biggest teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians (MI), would be to change bases for Ishan Kishan and Deepak Chahar.
This trade strengthens both teams. Both MI and SRH have no doubt done a great job at the auction table. But you can’t score 10 out of 10. There will always be some holes. An issue here and there is fine, but to win you must gather a well-rounded side. MI are privy to this; there is a reason why they have won 5 IPL titles. The trade between Chahar and Kishan would cover their required bases for MI and SRH.
SRH’s Deepak Chahar need
SRH already had Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Heinrich Klaasen. So, the inclusion of Ishan Kishan, Atharva Taide, and Abhinav Manohar bodes well for them. They have everything covered from aggressive openers to proven finishers. Reddy can even give a couple of overs and has shown great versatility with the bat. That’s why he can do well even without Kishan. Reddy can come at 3. He’ll be followed by Taide, Manohar, and Klaasen, depending on the scenario of the match.
One might say their batting isn’t long enough but don’t forget that captain Pat Cummins can whack the ball well, and Chahar too has the chops to do damage down the order. Of course, don’t forget an extra batter can be brought in as an impact substitute.
Let’s talk about bowling. Although Harshal Patel and Simarjeet Singh are present, who’ll be the second powerplay pacer among them with Mohammed Shami? Harshal is a middle and death overs specialist, and right now, one can’t back up Simarjeet despite the pacer showing promise. Chahar would rule it with the new ball. He’s the best powerplay bowler since 2018, along with Trent Boult. Bowling three overs of Chahar in the powerplay means there’ll be plenty of options later on, both spin and pace.
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Ishan Kishan’s MI homecoming
One glance at Mumbai Indians’ lineup would show you the problem. They don’t have wicketkeepers. This would force them to open with Ryan Rickelton instead of Will Jacks. Why? Well, because Rickelton can’t bat elsewhere. The other keeper they have is Robiz Minz, and he bats down the order. The issue is they already have Hardik Pandya to play that role. Also, Minz has played just 7 T20 matches for Jharkhand. Can you back him to play every game and perform with little to no experience of going against high-quality bowlers?
That’s why Kishan, who has made a name for himself at MI, should be a perfect fit as the opening partner for Rohit Sharma. This would mean that Will Jacks can come at 3, Suryakumar Yadav at 4, Tilak Varma at 5, Naman Dhir at 6, and Hardik Pandya at 7.
Since they have Reece Topley, Jasprit Bumrah, and Boult, it’s fine even if you don’t have Chahar. Topley may not be as good as the former Chennai Super Kings star, but he can do the job up front with Boult, and Bumrah can handle things down the order. Since Chahar is a powerplay bowler, his absence may not be an issue.
Squads
Mumbai Indians: Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult✈️, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz (wk), Karn Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk)✈️, Deepak Chahar, Allah Ghazanfar✈️, Will Jacks✈️, Ashwani Kumar, Mitchell Santner✈️, Reece Topley✈️, Krishnan Shrijith, Raj Angad Bawa, Satyanarayana Raju, Bevon Jacobs✈️, Arjun Tendulkar, Lizaad Williams✈️, Vignesh Puthur, Satyanarayana Raju
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Ishan Kishan (wk), Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Adam Zampa ✈️, Atharva Taide, Abhinav Manohar, Simarjeet Singh, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Brydon Carse ✈️, Kamindu Mendis✈️, Sachin Baby, Aniket Verma, Ehsan Malinga ✈️, Heinrich Klaasen (wk)✈️, Pat Cummins (c)✈️, Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head ✈️, Nitish Kumar Reddy
