"What's wrong with MI?"- Fans furious as Ishan Kishan is ignored for James Neesham

Ishan Kishan once again misses out for MI

James Neesham will make his IPL debut for the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday as young southpaw Ishan Kishan continues to miss out on the playing XI. The New Zealand all-rounder replaces Aussie quick Nathan Coulter-Nile and will be keen to make an impact for the five-time IPL champions.

James Neesham was snapped up last season by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) but wasn't able to cement his place in the playing XI. He just played 5 games, scoring 19 runs and picking up just a couple of wickets, while leaking runs at 9.86 per over.

Twitter reacts to James Neesham's inclusion, Ishan Kishan missing out for MI

MI fans have had mixed reactions to James Neesham's inclusion in the playing XI. Some believe there are too many bowling options in the current MI side and Ishan Kishan should have played. Others are excited to see how the Kiwi all-rounder goes about his business for the defending champions.

Ishan Kishan has not had the greatest of starts to the IPL 2021 season, scoring just 73 runs in five games. But MI fans believe the youngster deserves a chance on batting-friendly pitches in Delhi.

Ishan Kishan was also the highest run-scorer for MI last season with a staggering 516 runs to his name. Thus, it came as a surprise to many that he wasn't in consideration once again.

Another change for MI is the addition of an extra pacer in the form of pacer Dhawal Kulkarni in place of off-spinner Jayant Yadav. Here is how Twitter reacted to MI's playing XI:

Jimmy Neesham making his MI debut tonight. So we won't be seeing any tweets from the MI handle in today's game.
— Manya (@CSKian716) May 1, 2021

Delighted to see Jimmy Neesham get his cap for Mumbai Indians. Present lot of Kiwis, across teams, is very talented. CSK need a good start fron du Plessis and Gaikwad to pile up a big score against the strong MI attack
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 1, 2021

If Dhawal Kulkarni can get powerplay wickets, then we are away from 1 change to being best possible XI, Ishan Kishan could have played for Jimmy Neesham, though Milne seems better option for Dhawal in powerplay
— Nitin #MI💙 (@LoyalMIfan) May 1, 2021

Ishan Kishan IPL 2022. pic.twitter.com/qnORWkxKoZ
— Heisenberg ☢ (@internetumpire) April 29, 2021

Ishan Kishan is still out. pic.twitter.com/ZWSsVF9RZa
— Alagappan Vijayakumar (@IndianMourinho) May 1, 2021

Not even 50 hours since MI dropped Kishan & see where they're heading now https://t.co/bFl94tzs75
— 󠄪 󠄪 (@ComeToGabbaMate) May 1, 2021

Ishan Kishan had a standout 2020 season with 516 runs despite missing 2 games. A budding Cricketer like him, whom I picked in 2nd round in draft, doesn't deserve to be on the bench for failing in Chepauk where entire MI middle order found it tough to get going. @ImRo45 👎👎👎👎
— 󠄪 󠄪 (@ComeToGabbaMate) May 1, 2021

Exclusion of Ishan Kishan is gradually reducing his chances of making it to the 23 member squad for ICC World T20.
— Siddharth 🇮🇳 (@imsidbagaria) May 1, 2021

We were hoping that one day Ishan kishan will be India's permanent t20 opener, he could have also played in WT20 but Rohit ruined our all hope's.
— Vishnu (@Paramanand772k) May 1, 2021

Ishan Kishan would've replaced Rohit as Indian opener that's why he benched him .
— don't care virgin (@SpiderPant) May 1, 2021

No Ishan Kishan again. Whats wrong with MI 🤦‍♂️
— . (@sohailrocks11) May 1, 2021

MI and CSK have eight IPL titles and three finals between them and share one of the most fierce rivalries in the IPL. Saturday's game promises to be an absolute humdinger.

CSK have made no changes to their playing XI and have shown faith in the combination that has seen them be on an incredible five-match winning streak. With some absolute superstars on both sides, a high-scoring encounter is on the cards.

A small mistake from either side could prove costly given the small margin of wins that has been witnessed in these encounters. Although MI have the wood over CSK, winning four of their last five games, MS Dhoni's men have form on their side them and that could well prove to be pivotal in determining the result of the game.