Mumbai Indians sign Jonny Bairstow, Charith Asalanka and Richard Gleeson for IPL 2025 playoffs, subject to qualification. Three of their cricketers – Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch will head back due to international duty.
Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians sign three players for the IPL 2025 playoffs, subject to qualification. They are currently fourth on the points table and in case they make it to the next round, Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch will head back due to international duty. In their absence, MI announced the signing of Jonny Bairstow, Richard Gleeson and Charith Asalanka.
Out-of-favour England batter, Bairstow, will sign for Mumbai for INR 5.25. He unwent unsold in the auction and was playing county cricket before the franchise reached out to him as a potential replacement. Gleeson and Asalanka will pen down a INR 1 crore and INR 75 lakh contract, respectively.
Notably, Sri Lanka captain Asalanka hasn’t played T20 cricket since January, but that didn’t stop MI from picking him, as he can serve as a like-for-like replacement for Jacks. However, it is possible that Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma bat at number three and four, respectively, followed by Asalanka.
Gleeson, on the other hand, hasn’t played professional cricket since SA20, where he represented Sunrisers Eastern Cape. He picked up 14 wickets in 13 matches in the season and finished as the joint second-leading wicket-taker of the tournament.
Meanwhile, these changes will be effective only if Mumbai make it to the next round. The Hardik Pandya-led side will host Delhi Capitals on May 21 at the Wankhede Stadium, and that will be the virtual quarterfinal for both teams. If Mumbai manage to win the game, they will guarantee playoffs, but in case they lose, the team will have to beat Punjab Kings in their final league game and expect Punjab to beat Delhi as well.
Currently Mumbai have 14 points to their name after 12 matches while the Axar Patel-led side accumulated 13 after the same number of matches.