Follow UsOne of the biggest surprises to emerge from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction was Mumbai Indians signing a lesser-known player from New Zealand called Bevan-John Jacobs. He was bought at his base price of INR 30 lakh at the auction, and after the performance he put up in his latest match, MI could even consider drafting him straight into the XI.
Jacobs slammed his maiden first-class century on March 8 (Sunday) - for Auckland against Canterbury in Auckland. He scored 157 off 257 deliveries, with 20 fours and three sixes punctuating his innings. He put on 139 for the sixth wicket with debutant Lachie Stackpole to take their side 20 421, in pursuit of Central Districts' first innings score of 700/5.
After Auckland were asked to follow on, Jacobs once again stood firm, scoring a patient 106-ball 32 to help his side draw the game. This comes as a massive boost for MI, just 15 days away from their first game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk on March 23 (Sunday).
Jacobs turned up for Mumbai Indians Emirates in the International League T20 (ILT20) 2025, where he scored just 26 runs from three innings. In the Super Smash tournament before that, Jacobs finished as the leading run-getter for his side with 263 runs from eight innings at a strike rate of 140.64.