3 major challenges for Mahela Jayawardene as MI head coach for IPL 2025 ft. Rohit Sharma's retention
Former Sri Lankan batter Mahela Jayawardene has been reappointed as the head coach of the five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians. He replaced Mark Boucher, under whom MI finished last in 2024. Jayawardene had earlier coached the franchise from 2017-2022.
Jayawardene remains one of the most successful coaches in the franchise circuit, having marshaled the Mumbai Indians to three IPL titles during his tenure. He took up the role in 2017 and took the franchise to new heights. He will be hoping to make a stellar comeback in the 2025 season.
“My journey within the MI family has always been one of evolution. In 2017, the focus was on bringing together a talented group of individuals to play the best cricket ever and we did very well. Now to return, at the same moment in history, where we look ahead at the future and the opportunity to further strengthen the love of MI, build on the vision of the owners, and continue to add to the history of Mumbai Indians, is an exciting challenge I am looking forward to,” Jayawardene was quoted as saying in a statement.
Despite being familiar with the Mumbai Indians setup, Jayawardene will face some major challenges in his second stint as the head coach. The year 2024 was one of the most disastrous ones for MI in the IPL history and several areas need to be addressed by the newly appointed head coach.
Having said that, let us have a look at three major challenges for Mahela Jayawardene as MI head coach for IPL 2025:
# 3. Jayawardene has to manage the Hardik Pandya fiasco
The five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians appointed Hardik Pandya as the skipper ahead of the 2024 season, replacing Rohit Sharma. Under Rohit, the franchise had won five titles, and the decision to replace him as the skipper didn't go down well with the majority of the MI fans.
Hardik was booed in every stadium and the situation turned worse as the tournament progressed. Moreover, Mark Boucher wasn't clear in his response on the captaincy change, which might have been one of the reasons why MI went back to someone who had yielded results.
It remains to be seen whether Hardik Pandya gets retained by the franchise. Before his appointment, the MI management made it pretty clear that they wanted to look ahead in the future which is why Hardik got the nod for the captaincy role. However, given how the fiasco unfolded in 2024, it will be interesting to see Hardik’s future with the franchise.
# 2. There must be a regularity while picking the XI
The year 2024 turned out to be one of the most forgettable ones for Mumbai Indians as they failed miserably and couldn't gel as a unit. Moreover, the whole squad looked a bit disjointed with no clarity on the XI which was picked for the majority of the season.
Nehal Wadhera, who produced some match-winning performances during the 2023 IPL, didn't get many chances in the 2024 season. Even the foreign contingent didn't get a proper run and their roles weren't clarified.
It eventually resulted in a shambolic campaign for MI. With Jayawardene returning as the head coach, he will have to give specific roles to different players and try to give them a longer run.
# 1. Rohit Sharma’s retention
The biggest challenge for Jayawardene as the head coach of MI ahead of IPL 2025 will be retaining Rohit Sharma. When Hardik replaced Rohit as the leader of MI ahead of IPL 2024, all hell broke loose among the Mumbai Indians' huge fan following.
Even former players and cricket pundits criticized the MI team management for sacking someone who was still the Indian captain. During the tournament, a video clip featuring Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Nayar went viral, further prompting talks about 2024 being Rohit’s last with MI.
There was plenty of background noise in the video. While the context of the conversation wasn't verified, Rohit mentioned that everything is changing but it's still his home. The conversation ended with Rohit saying it would be his last.
Following the IPL debacle, Rohit led India to their second T20 World Cup win and etched his name in the annals of Indian cricket. While it is not clear whether Rohit will be released by MI, Jayawardene will try and do every possible thing to retain the record-breaking captain.