“Bring Jasprit Bumrah or else you will get stuck” - Aakash Chopra after MI’s 50-run loss to GT

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra feels Mumbai Indians need to get their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah back in their XI to get into the winning ways in the IPL 2025 season.

Notably, the Mumbai Indians suffered two consecutive losses in their first two games of the season. While they suffered a four-wicket defeat to CSK in their season opener, they suffered a 36-run defeat to the Titans in their second game.

Chopra stated that MI’s selection against the Titans disappointed him as they didn’t pick Vignesh Puthur, who scalped three wickets against CSK. Moreover, he felt that they didn’t use their bowling line-up properly to scalp timely wickets and contain the run-flow.

"Mujeeb (Ur Rahman) was playing but Vignesh Puthur wasn't. Puthur picked up three wickets in the last match and you didn't play him. The selection disappointed me a little. (Mitchell) Santner bowled only three overs and Mujeeb bowled only two. Satyanarayana Raju does well, but you had saved only the death overs for him. He is a bit of a death specialist, but I don't think they are getting it right," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"You are missing Bumrah but you are not using the resources at your disposal properly. The ball was even reversing this time, but that much penetration was not seen because all three bowlers - Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Hardik Pandya - bowl at 135 kph. They are missing a proper, proper fast bowler. Bring Bumrah or else you will get stuck," he added.

Moreover, Chopra asserted that Hardik Pandya needed to bat up the order instead of sending Robin Minz ahead of him when the required run-rate was more than 12. 

"Hardik Pandya, you will have to come up with an order. What are you doing? You cannot send Robin Minz above you because the required run rate was already very high. The game had already gone there, but you still sent Minz because you needed a left-right combination. It just defeats me," Chopra concluded.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at BetBarter and download the BetBarter app to start betting today!