Here’s our pick of 5 domestic players who we believe can be the game changers for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
With the 2025 IPL edition just over a couple of months away, the MI will be looking to make amends to their dreadful 2024 campaign, where the team finished last in the league stage with just four wins all season.
Naman Dhir
The 25-year-old Punjab all-rounder was part of the Mumbai Indians squad that finished bottom of the table last season. Used primarily as an Impact Sub early on, a couple of cameos ensured Naman Dhir got into the side on merit, with the team all but knocked out of the running for the playoffs. A blistering 28-ball unbeaten 62 against the Lucknow Super Giants in their last league fixture gave a glimpse of what the all-rounder could produce when squaring up against some of the best in the game.
This season, in the lead-up to the marquee tournament, Dhir has had a sub-par campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while playing for his state side, Punjab. In six innings, the middle-order batter has scored 132 runs with a strike rate of 142, while as an off-spinner he’s to pick up five wickets with a respectable economy of 6.67.
Given the MI’s lack in depth in terms of lower-order power-hitters and spin-bowling options, Dhir can certainly emerge as a viable option for the five-time IPL champions this year.
Deepak Chahar
After six seasons with the Chennai Super Kings, Deepak Chahar will now be donning the MI blue. With the team looking to add more potency to their new-ball bowling and reduce some burden on their star bowler Jasprit Bumrah, the addition of Chahar alongside a seasoned campaigner in Trent Boult will definitely make them a fearsome proposition.
Although injuries in recent times have limited his playing time both domestically and internationally, since the 2018 mega auction, Chahar has ranked right up alongside the likes of Boult and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as one of the highest wicket-takers in the IPL, especially during the Powerplay overs.
Raj Bawa
Raj Bawa is a 22-year-old all-rounder playing for Chandigarh in the domestic circuit. He came into the limelight on the back of his impressive all-round performances for India’s U19 team during their Would Cup triumph in 2022. As a result, the Punjab Kings roped in the youngster during the 2022 Mini Auction for INR 2 crore.
In the build up to IPL 2025, the Chandigarh all-rounder had an excellent campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In six innings, he scored 171 runs at a strike rate of 137, with four 30+ scores, and had an even better time with the bowl as he picked up 12 wickets in just seven innings, though he was a touch expensive, going at over nine runs per over.
Given the MI’s lack of fast-bowling all-rounders, Bawa will provide ample cover for skipper Hardik Pandya during the coming season.
Vignesh Puthur
The Mumbai Indians have a knack of unearthing gems. with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, the Pandya brothers, and many others having come through the ranks and gone on to make a big name for themselves. In the 2025 Mega Auction, the MI scouts may have unearthed another gem in the form of Kerala’s Vignesh Puthur.
Despite not playing any senior-level cricket for Kerala, Puthur grabbed the attention of the MI scouts ahead of the mega auction held in November 2024. The chinaman garnered so much attention with his unique bowling that he was invited to the MI trials on three separate occasions before the franchise roped him in for his base price of INR 30 lakh on auction day.
Under the right guidance, and given his side’s lack of domestic spin-bowling depth, the 23-year-old bowler can make a bid for a place in the MI playing XI on slow and turning wickets.
Krishnan Shrijith
Despite the MI’s strong Indian core, there’s a glaring lack of quality depth in their squad, especially in the Indian ranks. Moreover, they only have six out-and-out batters in the squad, and if for any reason one of their top-order batters were go down injured, they’d have very few players whom they could count on to come in and make a difference.
As things stand, someone like Krishnan Shrijith will be an able backup given his recent form and ability to play both explosively and maturely as per the demands of the situation.
In the last Karnataka Premier League season, the 28-year-old southpaw scored 349 runs in ten innings, striking at 139.6. In the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, playing for Karnataka, Shrijith scored 213 runs with a strike rate of 176.
With Tilak Verma and Ryan Rickelton being the only left-handed batters in the playing XI, the MI are likely to slot Shrijith in as an Impact Sub to exploit the field dimensions better.
Also read: Mumbai Indians SWOT Analysis
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