"This should be the first side to qualify" - Harbhajan Singh hugely impressed with leading franchise ahead of IPL 2025

Former India off spinner Harbhajan Singh reckons that Mumbai Indians (MI) have the strongest squad of all franchises in IPL 2025. He added that, going by quality of players in the MI outfit for the upcoming season, they should be the first team to qualify for the playoffs.

With five title wins, Mumbai Indians are the joint-most successful franchise in the IPL along with Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, they haven't won the T20 league since 2020. Last year, MI took a massive call and replaced Rohit Sharma as captain with all-rounder Hardik Pandya. The move, however, did not work as the franchise finished last in the points table.

Harbhajan, however, has high hopes from Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2025 season. Preview the team's chances, he told ESPNcricinfo that MI have assembled a strong group. He elaborated:

"If you look at the team, you'll say this should be the first side to qualify. Their batting is solid. In terms of bowling, you need a good spinner at Wankhede. They've got [Mitchell] Santner and Karn Sharma, a leg-spinner who can bat a bit. Deepak Chahar has a great record with the new ball. Boult and Deepak Chahar swing the ball. I think they have picked a decent squad."

On MI's disastrous IPL 2024 performance, the 44-year-old added that Pandya and co. must focus on their strengths and not what went wrong last year. He stated:

"Hardik Pandya will only look good if the team plays well. I hope that the booing crowds and the discontent among fans has been left behind so that the team can focus on returning to its trademark brand of cricket. Hardik is a proven captain. He's done well as captain for GT, so why can't he do it here?"

Mumbai Indians will begin their IPL 2025 campaign with a high-octane clash against old rivals Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 23.

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Mumbai Indians' squad for IPL 2025

Mumbai Indians retained five players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction - Jasprit Bumrah (₹18 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (₹16.35 crore), Pandya (₹16.35 crore), Rohit (₹16.30 crore) and Tilak Varma (₹8 crore).

At the IPL 2025 mega auction, they purchased 18 players. Trent Boult was their most expensive buy at ₹12.50 crore. They also purchased Chahar for ₹9.25 crore and Will Jacks for ₹5.25 crore.

Mumbai Indians' IPL 2025 squad: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Tilak Verma, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks, Ashwani Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Bevon Jacobs, Reece Topley, Raj Angad Bawa, Shrijith Krishnan, Venkat Satyanarayana Raju, Arjun Tendulkar, Vignesh Puthhur, Corbin Bosch, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz