Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra added that the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) reappointment of Mahela Jayawardene as their head coach implies that they might be looking to retain the maximum allowed six players before the IPL 2025 auction. He also shared that the franchise will not be at a disadvantage even if they spend ₹79 crore before the auction to retain their best players as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Mahela Jayawardene is back. So some changes have started happening. The Mumbai Indians are trying to retain their core as well, considering the form Hardik Pandya is in, and they have Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma/Ishan Kishan. After that, they have Nehal Wadhera. I mean they have plenty. So they might retain 5+1 and reach the auction after spending 79 crores. They are the ones who are able to manage because the six players they will retain are going to be part of the XI, and all will be Indians. So they can still pull it off.”

In the same video, Aakash Chopra also added that the Mumbai Indians’ bowling issues in IPL 2024 might have forced them to buy Paras Mhambrey, India’s 2024 T20 World Cup-winning bowling coach.

“Mahela Jayawardene is a master tactician. He was a good player and an excellent captain. He also had a good relationship with Mumbai. So Mahela is back and so is Paras Mhambrey. They needed a bowling coach because bowling was the weaker link last year. They were conceding a lot of runs. If they were making 200-225, they used to concede that as well despite Bumrah being there. If you were conceding 200 runs in 16 overs, you need a lot of help in bowling. So Paras Mhambrey has come there,” Aakash Chopra concluded.