In a continuation of their controversial team selection, Mumbai Indians have once again kept former captain Rohit Sharma out of their starting lineup, naming him as an impact substitute for their crucial IPL 2025 clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Wankhede Stadium.
Toss and Team Selection
MI captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl first, citing dew conditions expected later in the evening as the primary reason. "We're backing all our batters in this setup," Pandya stated when questioned about Sharma's exclusion.
The decision marks the third consecutive match where the five-time IPL winning captain begins on the bench, with MI opting for overseas batter Ryan Rickelton as their wicketkeeper-opener alongside Will Jacks.
Pitch Conditions and Team Strategies
The match is being played on the same Wankhede strip where MI bowled out KKR for 116 earlier this season - their only home victory so far. Both teams enter the contest with 4 losses each, making this a must-win encounter for playoff hopes.
"Sometimes it's good to reset, sometimes it's good to keep going," said SRH captain Pat Cummins about their five-day break between matches while fielding an unchanged XI.
Playing XIs and Impact Subs
Ryan Rickelton (wk), Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma
Rohit Sharma, Corbin Bosch, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Robin Minz
Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins (capt), Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Zeeshan Ansari, Eshan Malinga
Expert Analysis
Cricket analysts suggest MI's decision reflects their long-term strategy to build around younger players, though the move continues to draw criticism from fans. Sharma's experience on this ground (with over 2,000 IPL runs at Wankhede) makes his exclusion particularly surprising.
With both teams desperate for points, all eyes will be on whether Sharma gets brought in during the chase and how MI's bowling unit performs against SRH's explosive top order featuring Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.