The next team we will discuss about in the IPL Team Review is Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai Indians is the joint-most successful franchise in IPL History with 5 titles. The franchise last won a title in 2020 and it is arguably the most dominant season for a team in IPL History. Many cricket experts claimed the 2020 MI squad as the best T20 Team ever assembled and hailed MI think-tank for building such a strong team. But things haven't been the same since then for this franchise. They lost star players of the 2020 squad like Hardik Pandya, Trent Boult, Quinton DeCock, Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar in the 2022 Mega Auction. Because of loosing these players, MI had to change a tried and tested structure but couldn't replicate the success. After 2020, MI qualified for playoffs only once in the last 4 seasons while finishing at the bottom in 2022 and 2024 seasons. Besides poor onfield performance, the franchise also found itself in the middle of a huge controversy because of the controversial Hardik Pandya trade and sacking of Rohit Sharma which also affected the team's onfield performance. However, Rohit and Hardik seem to be on good terms after 2024 T20 WC triumph which can lead to improved team dynamics in the upcoming IPL season. Now, after the 2025 mega auction MI look completely different than what they were in the last cycle. However, can MI replicate the dominance of 2020? Let's find out.
We will do a phase-wise analysis of batting and bowling of MI 2025 squad members for the last 3 seasons of IPL and find out the strengths and weaknesses of MI.
Squad:
Ideal Playing 11:Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz(wk), Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah
Impact Player: Trent Boult
Batting
MI have assembled a batting line-up of Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Naman Dhir. Robin Minz and Ryan Rickelton are the 2 wicket-keeping options. But, how the overall composition looks it? Let's analyze the phase-wise performance of the MI batting lineup in the last 3 seasons of IPL.
Powerplay(1-6)
Scatter Plot for Powerplay Batting Performance
Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton are the 3 opening options for Mumbai Indians. My preferred choice for the opening pair is: Rohit Sharma and Will Jacks. Robin Minz will be the primary wicket-keeper. The reason of Rickelton's ommision is the need to play the best possible spin combination of Santner and Mujeeb with Boult and Jacks being the first 2 overseas options in the playing 11.
The Rohit and Jacks opening pair is an opening pair of extremes. Either this pair will go all guns blazing and score a 70 - 0 in the powerplay or get dismissed early and leave the team at a situation of 20 - 2 in 3 overs, with the later one being more likely. Rohit Sharma strikes at 135.44 in the last 3 seasons of IPL which is just above par. The problem with Rohit has been consistency, every season he has a phase of 4-5 innings where he scores single digit back-to-back. The highest cummulative of Rohit in last 8 seasons in 417 which is below par for a batter of his calibre. While, Will Jacks can create an impact at the top of the order, he is also inconsistent. Jacks scored 230 runs at 175.57 in 8 innings in IPL 2024, out of which 196 came in only 3 games, while he managed to get only 34 runs in the remaining 5 innings. This pair is not a reliable one but can be impactful.
Middle Overs(7-15)
This is the phase for which Mumbai Indians have an edge over all their teams. The No.3 to No.7 of Mumbai Indians consisits of Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir and Robin Minz. MI should keep the No.3 position as a flexible one and send one of Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir depending on the situations. In case of an early wicket, Naman Dhir should be sent at No.3 to just attack and try to score some quick runs. If a wicket falls after 3 overs, Tilak should be sent at No.3 to bat with a positive intent. And if the first wicket falls after powerplay, Suryakumar Yadav should be sent at No.3. By having such kind of flexibility, MI can utilize their batting resources very well. However, MI does have a concern to bat in the middle overs i.e. SLA.
Except for Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir, all the MI batters struggle to score fast against SLA. This batting unit can be choked using a quality Left Arm Finger Spinner(SLA). This is a huge concern especially when you have the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya and Harpreet Brar as opposition spinner in the league. Adding to this the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Will Jacks struggle against off-spin as well. This might not be a huge concern in tracks like Wankhede but in away games, this might come to bite them. But still, a middle order consisting of Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir is surely terrifying and bowlers will have a hard-time facing this middle order.
Death Overs(16-20)
MI batters in death overs(IPL 2022-2024)
This is a phase where Mumbai Indians batting can seal the deal. The explosiveness and experience of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya along with ever-improving Tilak Varma and promising Naman Dhir makes this middle order a very destructive one. Hardik's strike-rate looks less in the last 3 years of IPL but he is in the form of his life since 2024 T20 WC and I expect him to come good in the upcoming IPL season. Robin Minz is a youngster and can be groomed for the finisher role.
Overall, MI have a great batting line-up with inconsistent but impactful openers and a power-packed middle-order. This batting unit is easily among one of the best batting line-ups of IPL 2025.
Bowling
MI have a lot of depth and variety in the bowling line-up which has been their core strength over the years and one of the reasons behind their success in the league. They have an excellent new-ball bowling duo of Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar who can swing the ball both ways in powerplay, with Trent Boult also bringing a left-arm angle as well. Along with them the pace bowling unit of MI has the cheat code of T20 format and number 1 bowler in the world Jasprit Bumrah, making it one of the best pace-unit in the tournament. MI also have quality spin-bowling options in the form of Mitchell Santner and Mujeeb-ur-Rehman with Hardik Pandya as a reliable 6th bowling option. Naman Dhir and Will Jacks can be decent part-time bowling options as well with their quality off-spin. Let's see how this bowling unit looks phase-wise and how these bowlers have performed statistically in the last 3 years.
Powerplay(1-6)
Trent Boult is the best new ball bowler in the last 3 seasons of IPL with 32 wickets at an economy of 6.95 making him an outlier among all the new ball bowlers of the tournament. Deepak Chahar is the 7th highest wicket-taker in powerplay in the last 3 seasons of IPL with 15 wickets at an economy of 8.37 despite missing out on entire 2022 season and a major chunk(40%) of 2023 and 2024 season as well, which speaks a lot about his credentials as a new ball bowler. Besides this, Chahar was the best new ball bowler in IPL from 2018-2021, thus making this pair as the most dangerous new ball bowling pair. Following them is Jasprit Bumrah who is the best T20 bowler in the world can bowl in any phase of the game. MI also have the very economical Mitchell Santner as the spin bowling option to bowl 1 or 2 overs according to matchups in Powerplay. Overall MI is the perfect PP bowling unit in IPL 2025.
Middle Overs(7-15)
The onus of handling the middle overs bowling lies mainly on Mitchell Santner who has been very effective in this phase in the last 3 seasons of IPL with 9 wickets at an economy of 6.92. He will be paired alongside the Afghan Spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rehman. On the pace bowling front Hardik Pandya can chip with an over or 2 in this phase as per situation. Overall, MI is a decent bowling unit in the middle overs.
Death Overs(16-20)
This is the make or break phase in a T20 game. The team that masters this phase wins the most number of games in T20 Cricket. The death bowling of Mumbai Indians is dependent on Jasprit Bumrah who is an outlier as a death-bowler in T20 Cricket. Between IPL 2022-2024, despite missing the entire 2023 season, Bumrah has taken 18 wickets at an economy of 7.11 in the death overs which is phenomenal to say the least. He will be supported by Hardik Pandya and Trent Boult in this phase, with Deepak Chahar not being required as a death bowler in the current MI setup. Boult is not a reliable death bowler but he can bowl the 16th over. Hardik might not have good stats as a death bowler in the last 3 seasons of IPL but he is bowling well as a death bowler for India since T20 WC 2024 and can be a good supporting bowler for MI. With Jasprit bowling 2 to 3 overs in death the remaining overs need to be split up between Hardik and Boult with Hardik taking the main responsibility.
Overall, MI have an excellent bowling unit across all the 3 phases which is arguably the best bowling attack in the tournament. If this bowling unit is used wisely and all the bowlers stay fit throufhout the tournament , MI can emerge as one of the strongest title contenders.
Strengths:
1. Well-rounded bowling unit: Mumbai Indians have assembled a bowling unit of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Mitchell Santner, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman and Hardik Pandya which covers all the 3 phases of the game and provides different variety for different match-ups.
2. Explosive Middle Order: Mumbai Indians have assembled a middle order of Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Naman Dhir which is very destructive and can prove to be game-changer. They also have Robin Minz who is known as Chris Gayle of Jharkhand but this will be his 1st IPL season.
Concerns:
1. Structuring the batting unit: The only major concern in the MI batting unit is structuring the line-up. All the batters of the MI Top-7 except Hardik Pandya perform the best when they bat in the Top-4, which means atleast 2 batters most likely, Robin Minz and Naman Dhir will have to bat out of position.
2. Jasprit Bumrah's Fitness: Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of Champions Trophy, 2025 because of injury. If he is not 100% fit during the IPL, the excellent looking MI bowling unit will struggle.
Conclusion: Overall, MI have a great squad for IPL 2025 but it does have some weaknesses. However, MI are one of the frontrunners for the playoffs.
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