3 players who will play for MI in IPL 2025 after being at RCB in 2024 ft. Will Jacks
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) purchased 18 players at the two-day IPL 2025 mega auction held in Jeddah on November 24 and November 25. MI went into the auction with a purse of ₹45 crore and 20 available slots, including eight for overseas cricketers.
New Zealand's left-arm pacer Trent Boult was their most expensive purchase at ₹12.50 crore. Mumbai Indians also bought right-arm pacer Deepak Chahar for ₹9.25 crore, England batter Will Jacks for ₹5.25 crore, and all-rounder Naman Dhir (RTM) for ₹5.25 crore. Among spinners, young Afghanistan offie Allah Ghazanfar was bought by MI are ₹4.80 crore.
At the IPL auction, many players released by their franchises find news teams. And being a mega auction, each franchise could only retain a maximum of six players (including RTM) for the 2025 season. In this feature, we take a look at three players purchased by Mumbai Indians at the mega auction, who represented Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2024.
#1 Will Jacks
England's big-hitting batter Jacks had an impressive IPL 2024 season for RCB. He played eight matches and hammered 230 runs at an average of 32.86 and an excellent strike rate of 175.57, with one century and one fifty.
The 26-year-old clobbered five fours and 10 sixes, scoring 100* off 41 balls against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. RCB were set to chase a challenging 201 for victory in the match. However, Jacks and Virat Kohli (70* off 44) added an unbroken 166 for the second wicket as Royal Challengers Bengaluru raced to victory in 16 overs.
The right-handed batter also contributed 55 off 32 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This time, Jacks slammed four fours and five sixes as RCB fell just one run short in a chase of 223. He also scored 41 off 29 against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as RCB won the game by 47 runs.
Given his impressive contributions to the Bengaluru franchise, it was a huge surprise that the team did not use the RTM card to retain him. No wonder, Mumbai Indians were over the moon after bagging Jacks' services for the IPL 2025 season. He is a highly destructive batter in T20 cricket, who can also chip in with the ball.
#2 Reece Topley
Another England cricketer, Reece Topley was also part of the RCB franchise during the 2024 IPL season but will represent Mumbai Indians in the 2025 season. He was purchased by the Bengaluru franchise ahead of the 2023 season but was ruled out of the entire edition after dislocating his shoulder in the first match against Mumbai Indians.
The left-arm pacer played only four matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2024 edition, picking up four wickets at an average of 42 and an economy rate of 11.20, with a best of 2-27. Both Topley and Jacks were not part of the franchise for the final stages of the tournament due to international commitments.
At the IPL 2025 mega auction, Topley (30) was purchased by Mumbai Indians for his base price of ₹75 lakh. The England pacer has the experience of 183 T20 matches in which he has claimed 226 wickets at an average of 22.50 and an economy rate of 8.36, with a best of 4-20.
#3 Karn Sharma
Leg-spinner Karn Sharma was part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise in the IPL from 2022 to 2024. He did a decent job in the 2023 season, picking up 10 wickets in seven matches at an average of 22.30 and an economy rate of 10.37. In the edition held earlier this year, the 37-year-old picked up seven scalps in nine wickets, averaging 36.29 and an economy of 10.58.
At the IPL 2025 auction, Mumbai Indians purchased him for his base price of ₹50 lakh. The leg-spinner has the experience of 178 T20 games in which he has picked up 154 wickets at an average of 26.41 and an economy rate of 7.69, with a best of 5-24. Karn can also chip in with the bat and has two fifties.