By Karan Agrawal 
IPL 2025 is just a few days away and there has been a lot of buzz within the 10 franchises with players getting injured and replaced at a significant rate. In this article, we will look at all the players who are going to miss this year’s tournament partly or in entirety and their replacements.
Jasprit Bumrah
India’s fast bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is set to miss the initial few matches for Mumbai Indians this season owing to a back injury that he picked up during the fifth test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in January this year which also ruled him out of the recently concluded Champions Trophy. Bumrah’s absence is a major blow for the five-time IPL champion considering the skills that he possesses with new ball and in death overs which comes in handy for the Hardik Pandya-led side. The franchise has not yet named any replacement for Bumrah as he is expected to be fit and available for the second half of the tournament
Replacement: Not Yet Announced
Mayank Yadav
The LSG speedster has had a fair share of injuries in a couple of years that he has featured in IPL. Mayank who has played three T20Is for India was roped in by the Lucknow Super Giants in 2023 but wasn’t able to make his IPL debut that particular season due to an injury and had to wait till the next season to make his mark which he did by impressing everyone with his sheer pace and accuracy. Mayank who made his IPL debut against Punjab Kings picked up 7 wickets in 4 matches at an economy of 6.99 that season which was cut short due to another injury setback. Despite missing half the IPL season Mayank earned a place in India’s T20 side for the series against Bangladesh but was injured again after playing just three matches. Coming to IPL 2025 it is being reported that Mayank is set to miss the first half of the upcoming season with no replacement announced yet.
Replacement: Not Yet Announced
Umran Malik
The Indian fast bowler has witnessed several ups and downs in his young career. Umran who burst on the scene with his ability to bowl fast was a part of SRH for the last four seasons and had a breakthrough season in 2022 where he picked up 22 wickets including a five-wicket haul against Gujarat Titans in Mumbai which earned him a place in India’s squad for the tour of Ireland. Umran who was considered the next big thing in Indian cricket wasn’t able to fulfill the expectations and was eventually dropped from the side in 2023 and didn’t get support from his IPL franchisee either courtesy of diminishing returns. Umran would have expected to redeem himself this year when KKR picked him in the mega auction but an untimely injury meant that he has to miss the entire season.
Replacement: Chetan Sakariya
Chetan Sakariya who has represented India in two T20Is and one ODI has been named as Umran’s replacement which might not be a like-for-like replacement considering the difference in pace between the two bowlers.
Brydon Carse
English all-rounder Brydon Carse, who Sunrisers Hyderabad picked in the IPL auction held in November last year for a sum of INR 1 Crore, has been ruled out of IPL 2025 due to a troubled left toe which also cut short his Champions Trophy stint for England. The toe issue which resurfaced during the series against India was barely managed before Carse took the field in England’s Champions Trophy opener against Australia which further aggravated the injury as Carse ended up conceding 69 runs in the 7 overs that he bowled against the arch-rivals and was ruled out of the eight-team tournament as well.
Replacement: Wiaan Mulder
The 2016 IPL champions have signed South African fast-bowling all-rounder Wiaan Mulder as a replacement for Brydon Carse. Talking about Mulder the South African pace bowling all-rounder is a like-for-like replacement for Brydon Carse and has a wealth of experience especially in the white ball format of the game having made his debut for South Africa in 2017 Mulder has been a regular part of the playing XI in the last few months and has performed decently with a useful contribution in all three departments of the game since the retirement of Dwaine Pretorius. Mulder, who picked up six wickets in three matches for South Africa in the Champions Trophy, went unsold in the IPL auction with a base price of 75 Lakh.
Harry Brook
Delhi Capitals have been dealt with a major blow before the start of IPL 2025 as England’s ODI vice-captain Harry Brook announced that he won’t be a part of this year’s IPL. Brook who was picked by Delhi Capital at the mega auction last year for an amount of 6.25 crore, will be missing his second successive IPL season, having opted out of IPL 2024 before the start of the tournament. Harry Brook now faces the danger of getting banned from the IPL for two seasons as per the new rule introduced by the BCCI before the IPL mega-auction in November last year. According to the rule, “Any player who registers in the player auction and after getting picked at the auction, makes himself unavailable before the start of the season, will get banned from participating in the tournament and player auction for 2 Seasons.” However, the rule exempts a player from such treatment if he misses the tournament due to an injury or medical reason.
Replacement: Not Yet Announced
Lizaad Williams
The South African fast bowler Lizaad Williams who has played two IPL games has been ruled out of the upcoming IPL season having been signed by Mumbai Indians in the mega auction in November last year for 75 Lakh. Lizaad who has played 2 tests 7 ODIs and 15 T20Is for South Africa made his IPL debut for MI against the Delhi Capitals last season.
Replacement: Corbin Bosch
Williams’ countryman fast bowling all-rounder Corbin Bosch has been named as his replacement. Bosch who is yet to make his IPL debut has served as a net bowler for Rajasthan Royals and has played one Test and 2 ODIs for South Africa. Bosch is the same bowler who ditched a PSL contract to play in the IPL.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman
The Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman who was supposed to play for Mumbai Indians has been ruled out of the tournament which can prove to be a major blow for the franchisee as Mujeeb is capable of bowling with the new ball in the powerplay. IPL is the second consecutive tournament that Mujeeb will be missing having missed the recently concluded Champions Trophy.
Replacement: Allah Ghazanfar
An Unknown commodity Allah Ghazanfar made his international debut for Afghanistan in the home series against Ireland played in UAE and impressed everyone with his offbreak bowling and the variety of variations he has up his sleeves. Ghazanfar can be a like-for-like replacement for his Afghan teammate Mujeeb Ur Rahman.