Where Mumbai Indians (MI) finished in WPL 2024
They finished second in the league stage for a second season in a row, but went down to title-winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the closely-fought Eliminator. They were inaugural champions in 2023.
What's new for MI in WPL 2025?
Allrounder Nadine de Klerk and Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup winner G Kamalini, who was India's wicketkeeper and opening batter in the tournament, are among their newest additions. The other two new players in the squad are Rajasthan seam-bowling allrounder Akshita Maheshwari, and Madhya Pradesh's offspin-bowling allrounder Sanskriti Gupta.
De Klerk's addition comes at a time when India's own seam-bowling allrounder Pooja Vastrakar is injured. Vastrakar had last played for India at the Women's T20 World Cup in October 2024, and then three matches in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy after being rested from the home ODIs against New Zealand.
"Pooja's currently injured at the moment, so will be making a call on that very, very soon," MI head coach Charlotte Edwards said in the pre-season presser. "Clearly she's been a big player for us for the last couple of seasons, but obviously we're monitoring her fitness and, hopefully, we should be able to announce something really soon."
MI also have a change in the coaching staff, with former Australia opener Nicole Bolton replacing England's Lydia Greenway as the fielding coach.
MI's likely XI
1 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 2 Hayley Matthews, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 S Sajana, 7 Nadine de Klerk, 8 Amanjot Kaur, 9 Akshita Maheshwari, 10 SB Keerthana, 11 Saika Ishaque
Other players: Chloe Tryon, Shabnim Ismail, Pooja Vastrakar, Sanskriti Gupta, G Kamalini, Jintimani Kalita and Amandeep Kaur
Key players: Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Saika Ishaque
Harmanpreet Kaur is MI's leading run-getter in the WPL, followed closely by Nat Sciver-Brunt. A lot of MI's fortunes hinge on how the pair performs. Harmanpreet averages 17.40 at a strike rate of 102.35 in MI's losses, while the corresponding figures for Sciver-Brunt in those games are 10.33 and 106.89. Sciver-Brunt heads into WPL 2025 on the back of a difficult Women's Ashes, where she picked up just two wickets and hit two half-centuries across the multi-format series.
There will also be additional spotlight on Harmanpreet in a home ODI World Cup year, which will be her first as India's captain. Of late, her slowish starts in T20s have been in focus, even if she possesses the ability to make it up later. A case in point being MI's must-win league-stage game against Gujarat Giants in WPL 2024. In that match, Harmanpreet was on 20 off 21 balls at one stage, before surviving a dropped chance and turning the game around to finish on 95* from 48. MI, and India, would want their captain to be in good striking form.
Saika Ishaque has been the find of the WPL, and is its second-highest wicket-taker so far. Performances for MI helped her make her India debut, although she finds herself out of the reckoning after only four matches across white-ball formats. Ishaque has the ability to bowl across phases, and heads into WPL 2025 on the back of successful performances in domestic cricket, where she picked up 39 wickets and captained Bengal to a runners-up finish in both the Senior Women's One-Day and the T20 Trophy.
Young one to watch: Akshita Maheshwari
Maheshwari, 24, could be expected to feature in MI's starting XI, given the question marks over Vastrakar's availability. She is a seam-bowling allrounder who plays for Rajasthan in the domestic circuit, and is the first from her state to be part of the WPL. In the Under-23 Women's One Day Trophy last season, Maheshwari had finished with 23 wickets, the second-most in the competition, and picked up two hat-tricks: against Mizoram and Odisha, both in Mumbai. She also returned 4 for 23 against Meghalaya in the One Day competition earlier this domestic season. Maheswari was even part of the Senior Women's T20 Challenger Trophy, although she did not get a game.
MI's league fixtures in WPL 2025
MI start their campaign against Delhi Capitals (DC) on February 15 in Vadodara, and are one of the three teams that play league matches in all four cities hosting WPL 2025. Their two league games in Mumbai are back-to-back, making MI one of only two teams - the other being DC - playing on successive days in this edition. MI also play the last game of the league stage, which could help if things are tight - they will know the exact qualification scenarios.