Mumbai Indians (MI) strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Mumbai Indians (MI) went through a decent season in 2025 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they finished at the fourth position of the points table with the help of eight wins in 14 clashes at a net run rate of +1.142. They missed the bus only at the second qualifier when the Punjab Kings (PBKS) proved to be too good to beat for them.

The Hardik Pandya-led side were exceptional at the top in the presence of their former captain, Rohit Sharma, who paired with the South Africa wicket-keeper batter, Ryan Rickelton, in the group stage of the campaign, with the latter smashing 388 runs at a strike rate of over 150 with three half-centuries.

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Even when Rickelton went away to England for the early preparations of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final against Australia, Mumbai found a fine replacement in Jonny Bairstow, who grabbed the spotlight with 85 runs in two innings at a strike rate of more than 184.

Mumbai Indians’ strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Mumbai went into the auction with the smallest purse and was expected to be the least-buying team of the auction. Quinte funnily, they lifted the paddle for the Australia all-rounder, Cameron Green, who was never going to be under their radar with an anticipation of crossing the INR 20 crore mark.

Mumbai Indians squad ahead of IPL 2026:

Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Danish Malewar, Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock, Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford, Corbin Bosch, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa, Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Raghu Sharma, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Mohammed Izhar.

It was a steal from the Mumbai Indians to sign their former wicket-keeper batter, Quinton de Kock, for a price of only INR 1 crore. He can now reunite with Rohit at the opening position and still have Rickelton as the back-up option of the side. Suryakumar Yadav has cemented his place at number three, followed by Tilka Varma.

Is there any question about the all-round skill of Hardik Pandya, who can bring the best balance of the side with runs and wickets in the middle order and overs of the innings, respectively? At six, they can use Naman Dhir in the eleven with one of Sherfane Rutherford and Mitchell Santer taking the place at number seven.

On slow and low surfaces like Chennai and Lucknow, Mumbai may opt to go with Santner, whose four overs will be vital for the franchise, while on pace tracks and the requirement of scoring big runs at the lower order, Rutherford will be the suitable option.

It was a shocker that they didn’t let go of Deepak Chahar, whom they could have gotten back for a low price. It also would have given them a better chance to bid for a few players, which they couldn’t do with such a small purse. They also brought Shardul Thakur into the side with Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult being their premier pacers.

In the spin department, they will have Allah Ghazanfar along with one of Ashwani Kumar or Mayank Markande doing the rest of the job. If they are not happy with either Santner or Rutherford, Will Jacks can be a good option to use in the lower middle order of the side.

MI’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wk.), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutheford/Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur/Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande/Ashwani Kumar, AM Ghazanfar.

Impact player: Trent Boult.