Aakash Chopra, a former cricket player for India who is now a broadcaster, has selected the Mumbai Indians’ starting lineup for the 2025 IPL, which begins on March 22. Chopra emphasized that, contingent on the availability of star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, the Mumbai Indians thought tank will have “two ways” of selecting their starting lineup.
As he recovers from a stress-related back injury he suffered during the fifth and final Test of the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney, Bumrah is expected to miss the first few games.
Aakash Chopra believed that starting Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma at number one and Will Jacks at number three could be one strategy for the Mumbai Indians.
Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, and Mtichell Santner were the next players he added, with Suryakumar Yadav at number four. He suggested a bowler as an impact player and selected Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, and Bumrah as the pacers.
“There are two methods for creating the playing XI. The group must choose their course of action. Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma will be the first. On his YouTube channel, Chopra stated, “You can keep Will Jacks at number three, but it has its own set of problems because Suryakumar Yadav will go to number four, Tilak Varma to number five, Hardik Pandya to number six, and you will get Naman Dhir at number seven.”
Then, at number eight, Mitchell Santner. Everyone, with the exception of Rohit Sharma, is batting one spot below their position despite the depth. Assuming Bumrah is healthy, you can add a bowler as the Impact Player and follow Santner with Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, and Deepak Chahar,” Chopra continued.
In the event that Bumrah was unavailable, Chopra planned for a backup plan and suggested that Hardik Pandya and company choose an overseas seamer or Mujeeb ur Rahman over Rickelton, with Jacks and Rohit doing the opening duties.
But if Bumrah isn’t available or you want to try something new, you can start with Will Jacks and Rohit Sharma, followed by Robin Minz at number seven, Surya at number three, Tilak at number four, Hardik at number five, and Naman Dhir at number six. After that, you can either play Mujeeb Ur Rahman or Mitchell Santner at No. 8, followed by three quick bowlers,” he clarified.
Chopra went into additional detail about who might be the team’s best players, projecting which players will lead the run-scoring and wicket-taking lists.
“Who on this team will score the most runs? Tilak Varma sprang to mind, although Will Jacks might be batting lower in the order. Most wickets? Given that he will participate in every game, Trent Boult comes to mind. Depending on how many opportunities they get, Robin Minz and Naman Dhir might be the players to keep an eye on, according to Chopra.
On March 23, the Mumbai Indians will play their first road game of the season against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), their bitter rivals.
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