Mumbai Indians’ Fresh Faces: New Replacements for the Eliminator Clash

With the IPL 2025 Eliminator clash against the Gujarat Titans, the Mumbai Indians made key changes to their playing XI. MI has handed out multiple maiden caps in their match on Friday at Mullanpur.

Who are MI’s Replacements?

Jonny Bairstow and Richard Gleeson are playing for the first time this season. They stepped in as replacements for Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch, respectively. Both South African players left the tournament early to join their national squad for the upcoming WTC Final 2025.

Bairstow has taken over Ryan Rickleton’s opening role, bringing aggression to MI’s batting lineup. On the other hand, Gleeson has stepped in to fill the gap left by injured pacer Deepak Chahar.

Additionally, young all-rounder Raj Angad Bawa made his Mumbai Indians debut. He replaced Deepak Chahar in the playing XI.

“We’re going to bat. Looks like a different track to yesterday. Bit of less grass. Big game, scoring runs and defending would be nice. We all are aware, for the last 9 games, we have been playing it like a knockout. Really need to turn up today and focus on the things which we can control. We’ve got three changes: Jonny comes back, Gleeson makes his debut, and Raj Angad Bawa plays,” Hardik Pandya said during the toss.

MI Replacements in Previous IPL Seasons

Jonny Bairstow has played 50 IPL matches, scoring 1,589 runs at a strike rate of 144.45 with an average of 34.54. In IPL 2024, he managed 298 runs in 11 matches.

Richard Gleeson, who was part of the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2024, played two matches, taking one wicket with an economy rate of 9.06 and a bowling average of 71.00.

Raj Angad Bawa was bought by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for INR 2 crore in the 2022 IPL auction and made his debut against RCB, playing two matches that season. In IPL 2025, he was signed by the Mumbai Indians (MI) for INR 30 lakh.

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