Mumbai Indians Likely to sign Jonny Bairstow: IPL 2025 is about to start again and the remaining matches of the current season are scheduled to be played from May 17. However, due to the England vs West Indies ODI series, there has been a doubt about the availability of many English players. The Mumbai Indians team also includes England spin all-rounder Will Jacks. However, Jacks has also been selected for the ODI series against the West Indies starting on May 29. For this reason, if MI reaches the playoffs, it is difficult for him to play, in view of which the Mumbai franchise is looking to sign his compatriot Jonny Bairstow.
MI can sign Jonny Bairstow as a temporary replacement
Will Jacks was bought by Mumbai Indians in the mega auction and he made a significant contribution with his all-round performance. Jacks was available for the entire IPL 2025 but the season was suspended for a week in the middle, due to which the schedule had to be changed. Jacques has come to India for the last two group matches of Mumbai Indians but will not be available for the playoffs due to national commitment, as England’s ODI series against West Indies clashes with the playoff stage of IPL 2025. For this reason, the Mumbai team is in touch with Jonny Bairstow. However, Bairstow will be able to play only if he gets an NOC from the England Cricket Board.
🚨 JONNY BAIRSTOW IN IPL. 🚨
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 15, 2025
– Bairstow set to replace Will Jacks in Mumbai Indians' squad for IPL 2025. (Espncricinfo). pic.twitter.com/5ltgPgY4zX
Bairstow did not find any buyer in the mega-auction held in November last year. Apart from this, he has not played any match for England in any format since June 2024. He can come to India after captaining Yorkshire against Surrey in the County Championship this week. If his IPL deal is successful, he will likely miss one championship match and two T20 Blast matches.
Jonny Bairstow has played in IPL before
Jonny Bairstow has played a total of 50 matches so far, including five seasons of IPL. He has represented Sunrisers Hyderabad (2019-21) and Punjab Kings (2022 and 2024). So far in the league, Bairstow has scored 1589 runs at an average of 34.54 and a strike rate of around 145, including 2 centuries and 9 half-centuries.