Our playing 12 is locked in: Ambani on MI's signings in IPL 2025 auction

Mumbai Indians bought 18-year-old Afghanistan spinner Allah Ghazanfar for Rs 4.8 Crore in the IPL 2025 auction.

Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani has expressed his satisfaction with the team’s acquisitions in the IPL 2025 mega auction, announcing that the franchise has successfully locked in their playing 12. Speaking about the auction strategy, Ambani highlighted the balance between retaining top-performing players and adapting to the evolving demands of T20 cricket.

 

“Very happy at this position because we have got our playing 12 locked in now. Happy with all the players we have gotten till now. Of course, disappointed to lose so many ex-Mumbai Indians players,” Ambani said. Acknowledging the emotional difficulty of letting go of players with long associations, he added, “The last three years, we’ve thought a lot about what’s the balance that we truly need to get back to winning ways, and for that you had to balance the emotional aspect of buying players and the skills required in this new T20 game. Very, very disappointed to miss out on a lot of ex-MI players who have given us a lot of success, all the best to all of them for their new franchises, but also happy with what we have achieved at MI.”  IPL 2025 mega auction Updates

 

 

Highlighting key acquisitions, Ambani emphasised the importance of reuniting Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah in the bowling line-up. “Trent Boult and Bumrah is a partnership that we really wanted. Left-armers are a point of difference, and we’re very, very happy to get Boulty back because of the person and the skillset.”

 

Ambani also spoke highly of Allah Ghazanfar, an 18-year-old spinner from Afghanistan, who was among their standout picks. “It takes a lot of convincing for us to go for a foreign spinner. It takes a lot of convincing for us to go for specialist foreign spinners. We really rate Allah as a package.”

 

Ryan Rickelton, another new acquisition, was lauded for his consistency and connection to the franchise’s development programme. “We had a summer camp for our MI Global players in the UK a couple of years ago, and Ryan scored a lot of runs there, performed in the SA20. We wanted to have that continuity factor through IPL too.”

 

Ambani was particularly excited about Robin Minz’s return to MI. “Robin was also a part of our development tour two years ago. We were very sad to lose out on him last year because he was one of our top targets, so really, really happy to have him. Our set up will be a point of difference for him and happy to have acquired his services.”

 

With their core squad in place, Mumbai Indians are optimistic about their campaign ahead, as they look to reclaim their dominance in IPL history.

 

His thoughts on the Mumbai Indians team: 

“The MI team for this season looks strong. They have always been a dominating side in the history of IPL, and they’ve won five seasons for obvious reasons. I’m happy to be a part of this team and hoping to win more trophies in the coming seasons. Also, I’m hoping to get the opportunity to bat as well, because that is something I didn’t get much of a chance to do at CSK. So, I’ll definitely look to give my best with bat and ball.”  

 

On bowling in the death overs: 

“As a bowler, I like to take up challenges and perform to the best of my ability. At CSK, I had my roles, and now at MI, I will have different roles, but I’m ready for it. I hope to do well with both bat and ball and contribute to MI’s wins. Wankhede has a seaming track, and in my past performances, I’ve done well there. So, I’ll be looking to continue doing well for my team.”