3 reasons behind MI's slow start in IPL 2025 ft. Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians (MI) have once again had a slow start to an Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign. They have lost three of their first four games in the ongoing IPL 2025 season.

While they are known to start slow most of the time, things are slightly more concerning this time around for a variety of reasons. MI lost their opening game of the season against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by four wickets at Chepauk.

They then lost by 36 runs against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. Playing at home against defending champions the Kolkata Knight Riders next, they bounced back with a thumping eight-wicket win. However, their joy was short-lived as they fell short against the Luckow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium on Friday, April 4, losing by 12 runs.

MI are currently in the bottom half of the table with just two points from their first four games. That said, here are three reasons behind their poor start to IPL 2025.

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#3 Opening combination not working for MI

A big facor behind MI's defeats and slow start this season has been the failure of their opening combination. Having a solid foundation at the top is crucial, which has been lacking for them so far.

Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton opened the batting in the first three games. The duo failed to add a single run together against Chennai. In the game against Gujarat, they added just eight runs. Their only successful partnership of 46 runs came against Kolkata.

In the previous game, Rohit missed out and Will Jacks opened the batting with Rickelton, which did not work out either. Moreover, Rohit himself has failed to fire at the top, scoring only 21 runs from three games at an average of 7.00 and strike-rate of 105.

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#2 Key players not clicking

While the opening combination has not worked, several of MI's key players have also failed to come good so far this season. Skipper Hardik Pandya has not fired with the bat, scoring only 39 runs from two games.

Tilak Varma, who retired during their chase against Lucknow, has managed just 95 runs from three innings at an average of 31.66 and strike-rate of 113.09. Will Jacks, meanwhile, has just 32 runs to his name from three matches.

With the ball, the likes of Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, and Mitchell Santner have not been at their best either. Boult has just three wickets from four games, while Chahar has four wickets from as many games and Santner has just one wicket from four games.

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#1 Missing ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah

The absence of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah is undoubtedly the biggest miss for MI so far this season. Bumrah, who is recovering from an injury suffered during the Border Gavaskar Trophy, missed the 2025 Champions Trophy and has missed the early stages of IPL 2025 as well.

Bumrah has returned to bowling and is on the path to recovery. However, he is not fully fit yet and his return to action has been delayed. It is uncertain as to when he will finally make his return for MI.

Bumrah had picked up 20 wickets last season at an impressive average of 16.80 and economy rate of 6.48. While Chahar and Boult are highly skilled operators, MI will be desperate to have their talismanic bowler back as soon as possible.