IPL 2025: MI's Robin Minz trolled by fans after underwhelming start in first two games

It looks like Mumbai Indians (MI) are heading toward their second defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, this time against Gujarat Titans (GT). Chasing a target of 197, MI got off to a poor start, struggling against Mohammed Siraj¡¯s bowling in the Powerplay at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

MI¡¯s wickets kept tumbling, starting with Rohit Sharma (8 off 4), followed by Ryan Rickelton (6 off 9), Tilak Varma (39 off 36), Suryakumar Yadav (48 off 28), Robin Minz (3 off 6), and Hardik Pandya (11 off 17). However, the player facing the most trolling was impact substitute Robin Minz.

4 DOWN!!! Sai Kishore gets the better of Robin Minz. ?

¡ª Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) March 29, 2025

Who is Robin Minz?

For those unfamiliar, 22-year-old Robin Minz is a wicketkeeper-batter from Jharkhand, much like MS Dhoni. Hailing from Shimal village in Gumla district, he is known for his aggressive batting. Minz made his IPL debut against MI¡¯s arch-rivals, Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

The son of a retired army officer who now works at Ranchi Airport, Minz was set to debut last season, but a motorcycle accident kept him out. Interestingly, he was picked up by Gujarat Titans last season for ?3.6 crore but was acquired by Mumbai Indians for just ?65 lakh¡ªone-sixth of his previous price¡ªfor IPL 2025.

Fans troll Robin Minz

The Mumbai Indians coaching staff expressed excitement over the young batter¡¯s raw power after spotting him in the DY Patil tournament in Mumbai. Dubbed the "next Dhoni," Minz was eager to make an impact, but his IPL journey hasn't gone as planned so far.

After scoring just 3(9) against CSK and 3(6) against GT, fans on X (formerly Twitter) trolled him, questioning why MI continues to back him. Some also criticized MI¡¯s scouting, wondering how he qualifies as an impact player when he hasn¡¯t made any impact.

One fan wrote: "Robin Minz was supposed to be the Bihari Chris Gayle. He isn¡¯t even the Bihari Darren Bravo."

Robin Minz was supposed to be Bihari Chris Gayle

He is not even Bihari Darren Bravo

¡ª Vinesh Prabhu (@vlp1994) March 29, 2025

Another said: "Haven't watched much of Robin Minz but heard a lot about him. I don¡¯t want to judge based on two games, but he has looked well below average so far. Can't middle a ball against spin. Too early to say, so let¡¯s see how the tournament unfolds."

Haven't watched Robin Minz a lot and heard a lot about him.

I don't want to draw any conclusions on just two games, but he has looked well below-average so far. Can't middle a ball vs. spin.

Too early, so let's see how the tournament goes for him.

¡ª Jeet V. (Men's Cricket) (@Jeetv811) March 29, 2025

One added: "Mumbai Indians¡¯ experiment with Robin Minz has failed miserably. Time to focus on winning matches instead."

Mumbai Indians' experiment with Robin Minz fails miserably.

Now time to focus on winning the match.

¡ª Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) March 29, 2025

Another stated: "Robin Minz is the most overhyped youngster I¡¯ve seen in the Mumbai Indians squad in recent times. He can¡¯t even play a proper shot, wastes balls, and even wasted an impact player slot. MI fan pages need to stop hyping unproven players."

ROBIN MINZ is the most overhyped youngster I have seen in the Mumbai Indians side in recent times.
Ffs can't play a a single shot, wastes ball and even wasted an impact player chance.

It's time some MI fanpages stop overhyping few players even before they prove themselves.

¡ª ?????? ? (@SauravFcb) March 29, 2025

One frustrated fan slammed MI's management: "What a strange and somewhat stupid decision from @mipaltan to play Robin Minz and Mujeeb over Will Jacks and Vignesh. This will surely cost us the game. It¡¯s like they¡¯ve learned nothing from last year."

What a strange and somewhat stupid decision from @mipaltan management to play Robin Minz and Mujeeb in place of Will Jacks and Vignesh.. surely gonna cost us this game. It's like they just haven't learnt anything since last year.. #MI

¡ª . (@_reddevil7) March 29, 2025

Teams

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Impact Subs: Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Phillips, Ishant Sharma, Anuj Rawat, Washington Sundar

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Satyanarayana Raju

Impact Subs: Robin Minz, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Will Jacks

To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending.