"I see Tilak Varma and Rohit Sharma opening" - Mohammad Kaif on Mumbai Indians' potential playing XI after IPL 2025 Auction
Former India player Mohammad Kaif expects Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma to be the Mumbai Indians' (MI) opening combination in IPL 2025. He noted that Will Jacks can bat down the order to accommodate Tilak and Suryakumar Yadav in the top three.
Jacks was one of MI's overseas acquisitions at the recent auction. Trent Boult, Ryan Rickelton, Allah Ghazanfar, Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, Bevon Jacobs, and Lizaad Williams were their other overseas buys.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Kaif opined that Tilak will partner Rohit at the top of the order for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025.
"Will Jacks will have to come down the order. I see Tilak Varma and Rohit Sharma opening this time. After that, Suryakumar Yadav will come at No. 3. He always plays at No. 3 and generally plays well too. You can keep Hardik Pandya around No. 5 and Jacks will come after that," he said.
The former India batter acknowledged that the five-time champions will have an inexperienced wicketkeeper-batter.
"Naman Dhir is also there. So these are the six. You will have to get a young batter here (potentially Robin Minz as a wicketkeeper-batter). One batter might not be that known. So one thing is lacking there but they made a good comeback from yesterday (Day 1) to today (Day 2)," Kaif observed.
MI could use an Indian wicketkeeper-batter, either Robin Minz or Shrijith Krishnan, as an Impact Player. They could alternatively use an overseas wicketkeeper-batter in Ryan Rickelton.
"You will see Trent Boult and Bumrah bowling together" - Mohammad Kaif on the Mumbai Indians' bowling
![The Mumbai Indians bought Trent Boult for ₹12.50 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/abb5b-17325961402307-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same discussion, Mohammad Kaif noted that the Mumbai Indians' bowling attack is 'sorted,' with the presence of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, and Deepak Chahar as seamers.
"If you leave aside one or two players, all their players are proven match-winners. The bowling is sorted. Deepak Chahar bowls very well. He has done that for Chennai. You will see Trent Boult and Bumrah bowling together," he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Mitchell Santner's addition has significantly bolstered MI's spin department.
"Hardik Pandya is also bowling. The one weakness the Mumbai Indians had was spin. Santner's inclusion has resolved that issue to a large extent. Mumbai have a very solid team on paper," Kaif observed.
Mohammad Kaif's likely MI XI (with Impact Player): Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir. Hardik Pandya, Will Jacks, Robin Minz, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Allah Ghazanfar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult