Sri Lanka white-ball captain Charith Asalanka is set to make a potential late addition to the Mumbai Indians squad in the Indian Premier League 2025 after a potential invitation from the five-time champions. The left-handed batsman has been approached by the franchise, sources indicate. Mumbai Indians may be missing overseas players such as Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks, and Corbin Bosch for national duty if they make it to the playoffs. That aside, Asalanka's experience would make him eligible for the second half of the tournament. But so far, there has not been any official confirmation from Asalanka or the Mumbai Indians squad. The franchise still has a strong team of Indian players who can perform well in match-changing situations. Despite this, Asalanka's signing will not necessarily be ideal for the Mumbai Indians' needs. These are three reasons why signing him for the length of the IPL 2025 season would not be a wise choice. While Asalanka has broken into Sri Lanka's white-ball side, his T20 cricket is not representative of the hard-hitting style of the modern-day explosive batsmen who play hard from the first ball. He spends time getting settled at the crease, which is contrary to the pace of demand in modern T20s, especially the IPL. Even after playing 43 Lanka Premier League matches, his strike rate is a paltry 125.96. Charith Asalanka lit up Pallekele last night with some lusty blows 🎇 😍Which shot in the Sri Lankan captain's innings is 🫵 favourite? 🗯️⤵️#SonySportsNetwork #SLvWI pic.twitter.com/t6B6wyVaCA — Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) October 21, 2024 His overseas T20 record 1247 runs in 58 matches at 128.55 strike rate—tells a lot about a lack of solidity in power-hitting. Mumbai might have done better by opting for a more firepower and faster run-scoring potential player. With Rickelton and Jacks likely to miss out on the playoffs, MI still has issues with the middle order. Asalanka is not an opener and tends to bat at No. 4 or 5 for Sri Lanka and is thus hard to fit. Read also: Rohit Sharma Honoured with Stand Named After Him at Wankhede Mumbai already has Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order, and Naman Dhir and Hardik Pandya can bat above their positions if needed. So, it becomes difficult to find a place for Asalanka. Though he might be able to contribute the odd part-time spin in the IPL, his spin bowling success has been achieved on spin-friendly Sri Lankan pitches. IPL wickets will not be so easy, and his bowling will suffer. Overall, Asalanka is not going to make a big difference for Mumbai Indians either as a bowler or as a batman. Given the current team dynamics and needs, signing him up now may not be a wise decision.