Mumbai Indians will start their IPL 2025 campaign against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings on March 23 - Here's the predicted playing XI for MI including impact player options.
MI's squad for IPL 2025
Mumbai Indians will be desperate to flip the narrative after a historically poor IPL 2024 where they finished last on the points table. Hardik Pandya, who was going through a tough period both on and off the field, has seen his fortunes change and will be hoping for more acceptance as captain from MI fans.
On paper, they have once again created a formidable unit with enough backups for most spots. They have as many as five players who can bowl seam and bat and the same number of spin-bowling all-rounders. Their bowling attack will also see the reunion of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, though Bumrah has reportedly been ruled out of the first few games due to injury.
The only area they can potentially be found wanting is the extra Indian middle order batter sandwiched between the fearsome top order and the all-rounders.
Find more details on the complete Mumbai Indians squad for IPL 2025 here.
MI predicted XI for IPL 2025
Assuming Bumrah won't be available for the opening fixture against CSK, MI will need fast bowling reinforcements, of which they don't have many among Indians. This will force them to use one of Reece Topley or Corbin Bosch as the second overseas seamer alongside Boult. Bosch's batting abilities should give him the edge, especially given the fact that in Bumrah's absence, MI would want to shore up their batting for the extra 10-15 runs.
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Rohit will be partnered by Ryan Rickelton at the top, with Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Pandya taking up three of the middle order slots. Mitchell Santner should pip Will Jacks for the spin-all-rounder's slot given his form and left-arm angle, while Karn Sharma and Deepak Chahar will round off the bowling attack.
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MI will have a lot of flexibility with their impact player. They already boast of incredible batting depth with Chahar coming in at No.10 and they have six frontline bowling options along with part-timers to go with it. Based on requirements, they can get Robin Minz or Raj Bawa as the extra batter, or try out one of Arjun Tendulkar, Ashwani Kumar, Satyanarayana Raju, or Vignesh Puthur as the extra bowler.
Predicted first XI: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton*, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, Corbin Bosch*, Mitchell Santner*, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult*
Impact player options (in order of priority): Robin Minz, Arjun Tendulkar, Raj Bawa, Vignesh Puthur, Ashwani Kumar
*= overseas player
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