"No one picked him at the auction" - Aakash Chopra on MI's recruit ahead of IPL 2025 Eliminator vs GT

Former India player Aakash Chopra has highlighted the Mumbai Indians' (MI) top-order issues heading into their IPL 2025 Eliminator clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT). He pointed out that Jonny Bairstow, who has been signed recently as a potential opening partner for Rohit Sharma, wasn't picked in the mega auction despite scoring an unbeaten 108 in the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) record 262-run chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last season.

MI and GT will square off in the second playoff game of IPL 2025 in New Chandigarh on Friday, May 30. While the winner will meet PBKS in Qualifier 2, the loser will be knocked out of the tournament.

Previewing the MI-GT IPL 2025 Eliminator clash in a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that the five-time champions will likely miss Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks, highlighting that Bairstow didn't find any takers at the auction despite scoring a match-winning century last year.

"Both teams have identical problems because their No. 3 batters have left. Mumbai's opener has also gone. If one looks at it from that perspective, one feels Mumbai have more problems, although since Mumbai have more depth in batting and there is Indian pedigree there, you say the problem might not be that much, but it's a problem," Chopra said (8:15).

"Jonny Bairstow is very experienced and is coming after scoring runs. However, the truth is that he scored a century when 262 were chased against KKR last year, but no one picked him at the auction. He wasn't picked as no one had the confidence that he can score that many runs," he added.

Aakash Chopra opined that the Mumbai Indians will likely change their batting order in the IPL 2025 Eliminator. He reckoned that while Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav will bat at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively, Charith Asalanka, who will likely replace Will Jacks in the XI, will be slotted at No. 6 or No. 7 as an insurance policy.

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"Rohit Sharma has tapered off a little bit" - Aakash Chopra on MI's other issues ahead of IPL 2025 Eliminator

Rohit Sharma has aggregated 36 runs in his last three innings in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra picked Rohit Sharma's waning recent returns as another of the Mumbai Indians' issues ahead of the IPL 2025 Eliminator.

"Rohit Sharma has tapered off a little bit. He scored three consecutive fifties, and it seemed like it was all good, but he has tapered off in the last three matches. He will have a new opening partner now in the form of Jonny Bairstow," he said (11:15).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya also haven't contributed much with the bat lately.

"Tilak Varma has also tapered off a little. Tilak Varma was playing very well in between. Although he was retired out in one match, he looked good after that. He has gotten out in the last two matches. So he is not really coming to the party. Hardik Pandya too hasn't scored that many runs," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra opined that Deepak Chahar's leg injury could be another potential concern for the Mumbai Indians. He noted that Ashwani Kumar might have to be used with the new ball if the right-arm swing bowler isn't available for the knockout game.