5 reasons why Mumbai Indians can win IPL 2025 title

5-time Indian Premier League champions Mumbai Indians will be keen to showcase their pedigree after some poor seasons on the trot. Since their previous title win in the year 2020, MI finished 5th in 2021, last in 2022, playoff stage in 2023 and last in 2024. 

Skipper Hardik Pandya, who had a tough time as captain in IPL 2024, has to deliver from the front to get this side going.

Ahead of the season, a lot of talk has been on MI being set to miss Jasprit Bumrah for the first few games due to injury. However, they would want to cope well and then once he comes back, their belief will rise.

Ahead of the season that starts on March 22, we analyse 5 reasons why MI can win the title this season apart from listing their strengths and weaknesses.

Change of mood than last season

MI finished 10th last season, which was bottom of the table. They claimed only four victories out of 14 games. MI’s campaign was governed by fans not accepting Hardik Pandya as skipper with Rohit stepping down. There were widespread reports that MI’s dressing room was not a happy place. 

In 2025, several of these issues seem to have disappeared. Rohit is in a much better mood, helping India win the T20 World Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy. Pandya got his redemption and won back support by playing a key role in the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy wins. Suryakumar Yadav also became India’s T20I captain. 

Moreover, if there were unhappy faces, the big guns would have moved out and been part of the auction, but this didn’t happen as they decided to get retained. So, there is the a a belief that players and support staff are backing Pandya as skipper.

A brilliant batting unit with solid firepower

MI have a brilliant batting unit and are a force to be reckoned with. If everything comes to fruition, expect high-quality stuff. Rohit’s presence alongside Will Jacks at the top will be good to see. 

This could change once Bumrah is back, with Ryan Rickelton coming into force and Jacks moving into number 3. The biggest takeaway is the presence of Tilak Varma, Suryakumar, and Pandya. These three Team India internationals hold the key for MI. 

MI are also backing Robin Minz’s hitting ability alongside the work of Naman Dhir. The former owns a strike rate of 180-plus in T20s. The player will be making his debut in the IPL. All-rounder Dhir is versatile and scored 140 runs for MI last season, striking at 177-plus.

New Zealand’s uncapped player, Bevon Jacobs, can be useful from the bench.

Will Jacks is seen as a potential game changer

Reports are claiming Jacks could come into the scheme of things later on, with MI preferring Rickelton to partner Rohit. However, this might not be the case, as the 5-time champions could have Minz as the keeper and play Jacks, who can also help with his off-spin. If you look back at the auction, MI acquired Jacks for a hefty sum of Rs 5.25 crore. MI owner Akash Ambani was ecstatic after signing Jacks and even went on to thank RCB, who didn’t use the RTM card for the player.

Jacks has pedigree with 5090 runs in T20s at a strike rate worth 156.23. He also played for RCB last season and smashed a brilliant unbeaten 100. With the ball, Jacks owns 64 scalps in T20s at 22.82. This shows his all-round skills and how he can bolster the MI outfit.

With and without Bumrah, this is how MI could go at teams

As mentioned, Bumrah is set to miss a couple of matches for MI at the start. So team composition and balance with the surfaces in mind will be something vital for MI to work with.

Without Bumrah on pace-friendly surfaces, MI can use Rohit, Jacks, Varma, Suryakumar, Pandya, Minz and Dhir as batters. Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma and Trent Boult could be the primary bowlers. In this sense, they can use three foreigners and then when bowling, they can remove someone like Dhir and bring in Reece Topley.

So you get Topley, Boult and Chahar as frontline pacers with Pandya chipping in as the 4th pacer. You also have three spin options in Santner, Karn and Jacks available, making it a versatile attack.

On spin friendly surfaces, They can do away with Topley and have Mujeeb ur Rahman coming in as an Impact Player. So one will get three pacers and 4 spin options.

When Bumrah comes in, it becomes easier. They can then use Boult and Santner as the foreign bowlers with Jacks and Rickelton as batters. They could then bring in Karn as an Impact Player for Dhir. Or else, they might use the same formula of three foreigners and get in Mujeeb for Dhir, depending on what the venue demands.

A good feel this time with the bowling as Pandya is key man

Boult and Chahar will do the work for MI in the PP overs. Boult owns 62 IPL wickets in the power play. Chahar has 58 scalps in this regard, making them dangerous customers. When Bumrah comes in, MI get stability at the death. 

The role of Pandya is immense. His contribution with the ball is vital. Pandya can be an option for MI at the death. As per ESPNcricinfo, in the last 4 overs, he averages 19.21 with the ball, taking 19 scalps. Pandya’s overall impact with the ball and the third or 4th pacer in the team will help MI. In the T20 World Cup 2024, he picked 11 wickets for India from 8 matches at 17.36. 5 of his wickets came at 3.80 in the final 4 overs across 4 innings.

MI’s spin show gets elevated with the presence of Santner, who has been excellent of late across formats. He is enjoying the best time of his career. Once Bumrah is back, he will further boost the team. Mujeeb and Jacks have a crucial role to play as well.

Strengths of MI

Batting is MI’s main weapon with explosive names and solidity. The presence of key personnel in Jacks, Pandya, Boult and Santner, could be massive for MI in terms of consistency. 

Weaknesses of MI

MI’s batting order is packed with power, but their biggest challenge will be to get a balance from their bowling attack during Bumrah’s absence at the start of the season. Death overs could pose a problem for MI.

Verdict of MI

MI are a clutch side and if they can get Bumrah back at the earliest, it will help them fight for playoffs. They have much balance and with the personnel on offer, they can mix things well. If they don’t have to tinker much, this side will be ominous.

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