"I feel things will change with him coming in" - Aakash Chopra on Mumbai Indians' potential changes after IPL 2025

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that the Mumbai Indians (MI) don't have much scope for change in their squad heading into IPL 2026. He noted that Allah Ghazanfar's likely availability for the next season will resolve the spin-bowling issues they faced in IPL 2025.

With 16 points from 14 games, MI finished fourth after the IPL 2025 league phase. They beat the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Eliminator, but a loss to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2 knocked them out of the tournament.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener highlighted the Mumbai Indians' spin-bowling issues in IPL 2025 and reckoned that Ghazanfar's potential availability should address that concern next season.

"I feel there is no scope for change now either. As soon as Allah Ghazanfar gets fit, he will seamlessly fit in, because, at one stage, it seemed like you weren't using Mitchell Santner properly. You didn't have that much confidence and you didn't have a second spin option," Chopra said (7:00).

"Suddenly, towards the end, we felt that they were one spinner short. They weren't playing Karn Sharma regularly. They were playing Santner but weren't making him bowl. It means you were missing a gun spinner, and Allah Ghazanfar is one. I feel things will change with him coming in," he added.

The Mumbai Indians acquired Allah Ghazanfar for ₹4.80 crore in the IPL 2025 auction. However, the Afghanistan spinner was ruled out of the recently concluded edition of the prestigious league due to a fracture in his L4 vertebra, with Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who didn't get to play a game, replacing him in the MI squad.

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"Reece Topley will have to be released" - Aakash Chopra on the Mumbai Indians' seam-bowling issues in IPL 2025

Reece Topley registered figures of 0/40 in three overs in the only game he played in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that the Mumbai Indians would want to bolster their seam-bowling department, highlighting that Reece Topley needs to be released.

"There will be a question for sure whether the squad can be made better. I feel a little more work can be done on fast bowling. They have Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah. Ashwani Kumar did a good job, but they didn't have a fifth pacer. Reece Topley will have to be released. You will keep Corbin Bosch," he said (7:30).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that MI might want to retain Jonny Bairstow as a second overseas wicketkeeper-batter alongside Ryan Rickelton.

"I feel they will try to keep Jonny Bairstow as well. You get another option with Ryan Rickelton at the start. If no one retires and everyone continues playing, I don't feel there is much scope for change. They will try to make the fast-bowling attack slightly stronger from an Indian standpoint. Allah Ghazanfar will change the fortunes of this team," Chopra observed.

The Mumbai Indians won't be able to retain Jonny Bairstow ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, considering he came in as a replacement player when the tournament restarted after a few days' suspension. However, the five-time champions can reacquire the England wicketkeeper-batter at the auction.