Mumbai Indians (MI) have a method for success. Almost every Indian Premier League (IPL) season, they start slow and then pick up the pace. In 2025, the Hardik Pandya-led team did the same. After winning just 1 of their first 5 matches, Mumbai won 7 of the next 9 and qualified for the playoffs.
Unfortunately, they bowed out in Qualifier 2 and couldn’t go on to lift their 6th IPL trophy. But, all in all, it was a successful season for MI. It was just the second time in the last 5 years that Mumbai reached the playoffs. But before the IPL 2026, they can get even stronger.
Reports suggest that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set November 15 as the deadline for announcing retentions. And the IPL 2026 auction will take place between December 13 and 15. In the next couple of weeks, they’ll deliberate about who to retain and who to release. Let’s take a guess at what it could look like.
Predicted Mumbai Indians retention list for IPL 2026
MI had spent INR 75 crore of the total 120 on retaining five players: Jasprit Bumrah (INR 18 crore), Hardik (INR 16.35 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (INR 16.35 crore), Rohit Sharma (INR 16.30 crore), and Tilak Varma (INR 8 crore). Despite having just INR 45 crore left, they got Trent Boult (INR 12.50 crore) and Deepak Chahar (INR 9.25 crore) at big price tags.
Rohit and Tilak didn’t have the best of seasons. But on reputation, they will continue. Bumrah, Hardik, Suryakumar, Will Jacks, and Naman Dhir were just exceptional. Mitchell Santner, Boult, Ashwani Kumar, and Vignesh Puthur were good enough as well.
Wicketkeepers were one of the glaring issues. Robin Minz looked like a fish out of water. Shrijith Krishnan didn’t play at all. Ryan Rickelton had a good maiden season, but his inclusion made Mumbai struggle with juggling their other three overseas players.
Let’s come to those who might be under a cloud. Chahar was paid handsomely, but his returns weren’t that great. He’s always got some fitness issues and can’t bowl outside the powerplay. Similarly, Karn Sharma, Reece Topley, Allah Ghazanfar, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman might be on the sword’s edge.
Karn’s performance wasn’t bad, but he’ll be 38 before the IPL 2026 season starts. Topley and Mujeeb played just one game. Ghazanfar was out with an injury but was paid INR 4.80 crore, which isn’t a small number.
Mumbai Indians squad before IPL 2026
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk)✈️, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz (wk), Naman Dhir, Shrijith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs✈️
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya (c), Mitchell Santner✈️, Will Jacks✈️, Arjun Tendulkar, Corbin Bosch✈️, Raj Angad Bawa
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult✈️, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Ashwani Kumar, Lizaad Williams✈️, Reece Topley✈️, Satanyarayana Raju, Vignesh Puthur, Raghu Sharma, Allah Ghazanfar✈️, Mujeeb Ur Rahman✈️
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