Afghanistan leg-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been named as the replacement for Allah Ghazanfar in the Mumbai Indians squad for the upcoming IPL season. The 18-year-old suffered a vertebrae injury, and medical examinations confirmed a four-month recovery period, ruling him out of both the IPL 2025 and the Champions Trophy.
Ghazanfar was among the most in-demand players at the IPL auction. After impressing as a net bowler with KKR, the three-time champions initiated the bidding for him. Royal Challengers Bengaluru also entered the race but withdrew once the price exceeded ₹2 crore.
A fierce bidding war ensued between MI and KKR, with the five-time champions ultimately securing Ghazanfar for ₹4.8 crore. However, with his injury forcing him out, Mumbai Indians turned to fellow Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman as a replacement.
Mujeeb last featured in the IPL in 2021 for Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he played a single match, returning figures of 2/29 in four overs. According to an IPL Media Advisory:
“Mumbai Indians picked Mujeeb-ur-Rahman as a replacement for Allah Ghazanfar for the upcoming edition of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Allah Ghazanfar is ruled out of the season due to an injury. Mujeeb-ur-Rahman – a right-arm off-spinner – has played 19 IPL matches and has 19 IPL wickets against his name.”
Mumbai Indians Squad for IPL 2025 Announced
Following a disappointing season that saw them finish at the bottom of the points table for only the second time in their history, Mumbai Indians retained five key players—Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, and Tilak Varma.
The five-time champions made aggressive moves in the auction, securing Trent Boult for ₹12.5 crore and Deepak Chahar for ₹9.25 crore. Additionally, they utilized their sole Right to Match (RTM) card post-retentions to bring in Naman Dhir for ₹5.25 crore.
MI Squad for IPL 2025: Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Bevon Jacobs, Raj Angad Bawa, Vignesh Puthur, Karn Sharma, Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton, Krishnan Shrijith, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, Mitchell Santner, Jasprit Bumrah, Satyanarayana Raju, Arjun Tendulkar, Lizaad Williams and Mujeeb Ur Rahman
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