Is Ryan Rickelton playing today's GT vs MI IPL 2025 Eliminator match?
Mumbai Indians (MI) will be without the services of Ryan Rickelton for today's IPL 2025 Eliminator match against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Mullanpur. Ryan Rickelton, along with Corbin Bosch, has headed back to South Africa to prepare for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, which will be played from June 11 to June 15 at the iconic Lord's.
Rickelton had an impressive IPL 2025 campaign and his performance with the willow was among the reasons why MI finished in the top four of the points table despite a disastrous start to their campaign. Hardik Pandya and co. lost four of their first five matches, but then turned around their fortunes completely, winning their next six matches in a row.
Rickelton played all 14 matches for MI in the league stage and contributed 388 runs at an average of 29.84 and a strike rate of 150.97, with the aid of three half-centuries. The aggressive left-handed batter scored an unbeaten 62 off 41 balls in MI's first win of IPL 2025, against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 31, smashing four fours and five sixes.
The 28-year-old also contributed 58 off 32 balls in the match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Wankhede Stadium on April 27. The southpaw struck six fours and four sixes as Mumbai went on to win the match by 54 runs. In MI's very next game, the South African batter scored 61 off 38 balls against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur, clobbering seven fours and three sixes in a 100-run win.
While Rickelton crossed the half-century mark only three times during his 14 visits to the crease, he did chip with a number of useful 20s and 30s in some of the other games. As a wicketkeeper as well, the Proteas star did a good job, taking 11 catches and effecting five stumpings.
Jonny Bairstow replaces Ryan Rickelton in MI squad
Experienced England batter Jonny Bairstow has replaced Rickelton at the top of the order for the IPL 2025 Eliminator against Gujarat. Bairstow was one of replacements players signed by MI after it was confirmed that certain England and South African players would be unavailable for the playoffs due to national duty.
Bairstow is no stranger to the IPL. He represented Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) from 2019 to 2021 and PBKS between 2022 and 2024. Overall, the 35-year-old has played 50 IPL matches in which he has scored 1,589 runs at an average of 34.54 and a strike rate of 144.45, with two hundreds and nine half-centuries.