IPL Auction 2025: Yuzvendra Chahal's next destination locked in

Ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, former Indian batter and cricket analyst Aakash Chopra has warned that Mumbai Indians (MI) must urgently bolster their bowling attack if they want to stay competitive.

Chopra believes the title aspirations of the Mumbai Indians (MI) depend on strengthening their bowling attack, especially the spin department. As the Mumbai Indians (MI) gear up for the IPL 2025 mega auction, Aakash Chopra has raised an alarm on the franchise's bowling department, as he stressed the urgent need for upgrades.

Aakash Chopra says Mumbai Indians (MI) must bolster spin attack at IPL 2025 Mega Auction

The Mumbai Indians have once again retained a formidable batting lineup, keeping heavyweights like Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, and Tilak Varma, alongside the star all-rounder Hardik Pandya and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.

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However, Chopra pointed out that the five-time champions’ bowling attack is one area that could jeopardize their chances in the upcoming season. The cricket pandit suggested that the Mumbai Indians’ bowling unit needs serious attention at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction.

He believes that the MI must add quality spinners to their squad to fill the gaps in their attack and bounce back strongly in the IPL 2025. Aakash Chopra predicted that the Mumbai Indians (MI) will target Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, who were released by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), respectively, at the auction.

Aakash Chopra highlights Mumbai Indians' weak link ahead of the IPL Auction 2025

Yuzvendra Chahal, with 18 wickets in IPL 2024 at an economy rate of 9.41, would be a key figure in MI's potential revamp, and the cricket pandit predicted that the franchise will go after the legspinner at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction.

Despite Sundar's limited appearances for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the last season, Chopra believes that the MI could pursue him in a bid to strengthen their spin attack along with Yuzvendra Chahal, which has been their weak link in recent IPL seasons.

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The former Indian batter has also pointed out Mumbai's overreliance on their star-studded batting lineup in the IPL 2024, where they lost the high-scoring matches due to poor bowling performance. The inability to defend big totals of 225 to 250 has been a recurring issue, and Chopra warned that MI can’t afford to depend solely on batting brilliance for success.

They will go after Yuzvendra Chahal: Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel: “Their batting has become strong once again. The problem is that they have only one bowler, who is a four-over bank, but you need more bowlers. Bowling let them down last time as well. They used to score runs, 225 to 250, but used to concede that many as well.”

Chopra signed off by saying, “So they had so much overdependence on the batting to fire, and scoring 20-40 runs above par every time is a bit too much. They might have an entire Indian batting lineup and an overseas bowling lineup, with a couple of Indian spinners. They will definitely go after Yuzvendra Chahal. I don't know whether they will get Yuzvendra Chahal or not. They might want to keep Washington Sundar.”