"Suddenly, he has gone out of the captaincy list" - Aakash Chopra on the opportunities for Mumbai Indians players in IPL 2025

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that IPL 2025 presents a great opportunity for Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya to prove himself as a leader once again. He pointed out that the all-rounder no longer seems to be a captaincy candidate for India in any of the formats.

Hardik (₹16.35 crore) was among MI's five retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. The seam-bowling all-rounder has also been retained as the franchise's skipper for the upcoming edition of the prestigious league.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener chose Hardik as the Mumbai Indians player with the greatest opportunity in IPL 2025.

"The biggest opportunity is for Hardik Pandya. He was almost the heir apparent to Rohit Sharma at one point. He used to be the captain wherever Rohit Sharma wasn't there. It was almost a given that he would be the white-ball captain. However, suddenly, he has gone out of the captaincy list," he said (9:15).

Chopra noted that the former Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper is not being considered even for the Indian vice-captaincy despite his stellar performances and impressive captaincy record.

"No one is even discussing him. He is not even being made the vice-captain. The guy has performed strongly. He is a clutch player. He is the one who delivers almost every single time in clutch situations. He won the Gujarat Titans the title and took them to the final the second year," he observed.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Hardik can redeem himself by taking MI to their sixth IPL title this season.

"After that, suddenly, he is nowhere. He is not in the captaincy list. So it will be a season of slight personal redemption for him. Can he as a captain take the Mumbai Indians to their former glory? Of course, there will be acceptance this time, but I think the biggest opportunity lies with Hardik Pandya," Chopra noted.

The Mumbai Indians finished last in IPL 2024 under Hardik Pandya's captaincy. The Baroda all-rounder didn't have a great season with bat and ball either, aggregating 216 runs at an average of 18.00 in 13 hits and picking up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 10.75 in 12 innings.

---

"The Wankhede Stadium can make his dreams come true" - Aakash Chopra on the opportunity for Mumbai Indians' Deepak Chahar in IPL 2025

Deepak Chahar represented the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that IPL 2025 also presents Deepak Chahar with a chance to return to national reckoning through impressive performances with the new ball for the Mumbai Indians.

"I think it's a massive opportunity for Deepak Chahar because he has gone slightly out of the T20 scheme of things, but this is the ground. If he remains fit and plays the entire season, the Wankhede Stadium can make his dreams come true because if he starts picking up wickets with the new ball, suddenly you will find that he is in the reckoning for Team India again," he said (10:10).

The Mumbai Indians bought Deepak Chahar for ₹9.25 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. He will likely share the new ball with Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah, once he is fit and available, potentially being used more at the death.