IPL 2025 MI vs CSK Best Playing 11 Comparison for Both Teams

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Hardik Pandya, the Captains in our MI vs CSK best playing 11 for both teams for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. 

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings – Two GOAT teams in the Indian Premier League will be up against each other once again in IPL 2025 with an expectation of a bumper contest between them. These two are the most successful franchises in the history of the IPL with four titles to their name, and a clash between these two is regarded as the El Clasico of IPL.

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have been playing against each other since 2008. Out of the 37 matches that these two teams have played against each other, MI have won 20 matches, and CSK have won 17 matches. However, the recent matches have seen CSK being a dominant team over MI with 5 wins and 2 losses in the last 7 matches. Meanwhile, the last three encounters have all been won by CSK.

Both teams had retained a strong core ahead of the Auction, but a Mega Auction has kind of revamped their squad. However, even as both teams have added some new members to the squad, both teams are looking strong on paper. But if we had to compare the Strongest playing 11 of MI and CSK, which one looks the strongest on paper? Well, let’s look at MI vs CSK best playing 11 comparison for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

IPL 2025 Official Squad List for Mumbai Indians (MI)

Batters: Bevon Jackobs (o), Tilak Varma, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav & Shrijith Krishnan

WKs: Robin Minz & Ryan Rickelton (o)

All-rounders: Arjun Tendulkar, Mitchell Santner (o), Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa, Hardik Pandya & Will Jacks (o)

Bowlers: Allah Ghazanfar (o), Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma, Lizaad Williams (o), Reece Topley (o), Satyanayarana Raju, Trent Boult (o) & Vignesh Puthur

IPL 2025 Official Squad List for Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Batters: Andre Siddharth, Rahul Tripathi, Ruturaj Gaikwad & Shaik Rasheed

WKs: Devon Conway (o), MS Dhoni & Vansh Bedi

All-rounders: Anshul Kamboj, Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton (o), Rachin Ravindra (o), Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran (o), Shivam Dube & Vijay Shankar

Bowlers: Gurjapneet Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana (o), Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis (o), Noor Ahmad (o) & Shreyas Gopal

MI vs CSK Best Playing 11 Comparison for IPL 2025

If we talk about the best opening combination for MI and CSK, we have a stable batting combo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway for CSK, and a slightly more aggressive combo of Rohit Sharma and Will Jacks for MI. On paper, CSK openers are known for consistency, and MI openers will be known for aggressive starts. Both are solid strategies that suit their team, and are ideal for matches at home.

Coming to the middle-order, Mumbai Indians look quite strong with Tilak Varma at 3, Suryakumar Yadav at 4, and Hardik Pandya. In Comparison, CSK will mostly have Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, and Shivam Dube. On paper, CSK middle order is no match for MI as MI have three quality Indian team players, and CSK have two out-of-form players, Rahul Tripathi and Deepak Hooda.

In terms of Finishers, CSK seems to have a big advantage. While CSK will mostly have the trio of Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, and Sam Curran as finishers, MI will have to rely on the inexperienced trio of Robin Minz, Naman Dhir, and Mitchell Santner. So, it looks pretty clear that finishers for CSK are not only experienced, but they also feel much stronger than that of MI.

Talking about spinners, CSK again have a big advantage with the presence of three quality spinners, Noor Ahmad, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin. Spin is CSK’s forte, and for matches at home, MI don’t match them. For MI, Allah Ghazanfar and Mitchell Santner should lead the spin bowling. While both are quality bowlers, they will still marginally fall short of CSK in terms of overall quality.

Finally, talking about pacers, MI look much stronger as compared to CSK. MI have four quality pacers in their playing 11 in the form of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, and Hardik Pandya. Whereas CSK have three quality pacers in the form of Matheesha Pathirana, Sam Curran, and Khaleel Ahmed. It looks pretty evident that MI have a stronger pace attack, and that also suits their home matches.

IPL 2025 MI vs CSK Best Playing 11 for Chennai Super Kings

1. Ruturaj Gaikwad (c)
2. Devon Conway
3. Rahul Tripathi
4. Shivam Dube
5. Deepak Hooda
6. Ravindra Jadeja
7. MS Dhoni (wk)
8. Sam Curran
9. Ravichandran Ashwin
10. Khaleel Ahmed
11. Matheesha Pathirana
12. Noor Ahmad (Impact Player)

IPL 2025 MI vs CSK Best Playing 11 for Mumbai Indians

1. Rohit Sharma
2. Will Jacks
3. Tilak Varma
4. Suryakumar Yadav
5. Hardik Pandya (c)
6. Naman Dhir (wk)
7. Robin Minz
8. Mitchell Santner
9. Deepak Chahar
10. Allah Ghazanfar
11. Jasprit Bumrah 
12. Trent Boult (Impact Player)

So, that’s about the best playing 11 comparison for MI vs CSK for IPL 2025. Overall, there isn’t much to differentiate between the playing 11 of both teams. While MI have a stronger middle-order and pace department, CSK have stronger finishers and spin department. Whereas for openers, it seems the ideal basis for their strategy. So, overall, CSK and MI seem neck-and-neck in terms of their playing 11, and that signifies that both will have a strong chance to qualify for the Playoffs of IPL 2025.

Thanks for reading! What’s your playing 11 for MI vs CSK clash in IPL 2025? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com

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Adesh Kothari

Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics with over 20 years of experience following Cricket.

Cricket to him is like what Football is to Lionel Messi, Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar, Dancing is to Michael Jackson, and Acting is to Clint Eastwood.

Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.