Alright, Paltan, we know the drill! IPL fever is over the moon and with it comes a flurry of questions. Don’t worry, we’ve got all the answers, so you don’t have to go on a wild internet hunt!

So, here we are!!! A one-stop destination for everything IPL 2025! We’ve rounded up the queries and made sure you get all the deets in one place.

Simply sit back, scroll through and get IPL-ready. Because once the season starts, the only question you’ll be asking is: When’s the next MI match?! 😉 Lessss go!

• There are a few teams that MI are facing twice while only once against others. Can you give the bifurcation?

Sure. The format remains the same as the 2024 season.

The 10 franchises are divided into two groups of five teams each, as follows:

Group A: CSK, KKR, RR, RCB and PBKS

Group B: MI, SRH, GT, DC and LSG

Each franchise will play the four sides twice within their group. They will also play one team from the other group twice (That’s CSK, for us) and the other four teams once.

Want MI’s IPL 2025 schedule? – TAP HERE!

At the end of the league phase, every team will complete 14 matches, seven at home and away apiece. Post that, the top four teams will qualify for the playoffs. Hope we are clear… 😌

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• Since HP won’t be featuring in #CSKvMI, who will lead the side?

Looks like you have missed watching our pre-season press conference! 🧐

Owing to a slow over-rate in the last match of IPL 2024 that resulted in a one match ban for him, Hardik Pandya confirmed that Surya दादा will be leading the side in his absence.

“I am lucky that I have three captains playing with me. It adds more and more experience for me. I know when I require help, there are three different minds who have led India in different formats and with so many years of experience who are always there to put their arm around my shoulder and be there for me,” he said.

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• Mahela Jayawardene makes a comeback?

YUSSSSSSSS! The Sri Lankan legend, who guided us to the ‘17, ‘19 and ‘20 glories, returns at the helm of affairs as our Head Coach.

Let’s bring home #6, coach saab!

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• Who are our retained stars?

Okay, okay, no questions are silly. 😬

Our Famous Five, namely Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma were retained ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

During the mega auction, we RTM’ed Naman Dhir to make him our sixth retention ahead of the season. Of course, we were never gonna let him go after his exploits in the previous edition!

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• We can see several new faces in the camp…

Needn’t say anymore!!! Our think tank roped in 18 new faces in addition to the retained core for the IPL 2025 campaign.

While the overseas roster features exciting prospects in the names of Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton, Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner among others; the Indian listing contains young guns like Vignesh Puthur, VS Raju, Raj Angad Bawa, Robin Minz etc.

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• A couple of players were recently ruled out injured, weren’t they?

Yeah, Afghanistan sensation AM Ghazanfar and the South African pacer Lizaad Williams, unfortunately, won’t be featuring in this campaign owing to injuries.

Mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman and all-rounder Corbin Bosch are the replacements, respectively.

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• Who will open the innings with RO? Will it be Rickelton or Jacks? Any idea?

Yeh toh waqt hi bataayega… 😉

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• When are we playing our first match at Wankhede?

The Boys in Blue and Gold will begin their quest for Mission #6 with two successive away games against CSK (23 March) and GT (29 March).

After these fixtures, we will finally take the field at आपला Wankhede against the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on 31 March.

Paltan, let’s set the expectation straight, shall we?! Nothing less than a massive turnout donning the MI Jersey, waving the MI flag and Mumbai Mumbaiiiiiiiii cheers reverberating throughout the city. As simple as it sounds… 😊

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• Are we playing any afternoon games? If yes, what’s the start time?

Yup, we will be playing two out of our 14 league stage games in the afternoon, which means a 3:30 PM IST start.

The two encounters are scheduled to take place towards the business end of the season, with LSG at the Wankhede Stadium (27 April) and PBKS at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala (11 May).

All the other matches will commence at 7:30 PM IST.