Watch: Uncapped Indian chinaman spinner in Mumbai Indians trials ahead of IPL 2026

Ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction, Mumbai Indians (MI) has been doing trials for scouting untapped talents. Mumbai Indians has the reputation of finding some of the best underrated talents from the grassroots level of Indian cricket through their scouting projects. Before another fresh season of the Indian Premier League, expectations are high around the 5-time league winners.

It is reported that during one of their recent trial camps, an uncapped Indian chairman bowler was spotted. It was Shubman Rana. Who follows Indian cricket thoroughly has perhaps already heard the name before. The emerging spinner already grabbed attention from multiple IPL franchises with his bowling skills. 

Who is Shubham Rana? 

Shubham Rana is an under-19 prospect and a left-arm wrist spinner, which is rare in cricket, and he has terrific control over his bowling and variations. There are multiple videos on the internet from which viewers can see glimpses of his bowling. One of his best weapons is googly. Rana can deliver a defense-breaking googly because of his control over the bowling. Hailing from Punjab, the spinner worked as a net bowler for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) before but was not selected in the final squad. During the 2023-24 U19 Cooch Behar Trophy, Rana had been in fine form. According to stats, he claimed 28 wickets in 6 matches with an average of just 13.6.

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In the last season, Mumbai Indians surprised the cricket fans by introducing Vignesh Puthur and Ashwani Kumar in multiple crucial matches. They released Puthur ahead of the upcoming auction. If the MI management wants to rope in another underrated bowler who can put the opposition batters in surprise, then Shubham Rana can be a good option. 

Players released and retained by Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2026 auction: 

Released players: Satyanaryana Raju, Vignesh Puthur, Reece Topley, Bevon Jacobs, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Lizaad Williams, Karn Sharma, KL Shrijith, and Arjun Tendulkar (traded to Lucknow Super Giants). 

Retained players: Allah Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raghu Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Robin Minz, Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Will Jacks, Shardul Thakur (traded in from Lucknow Super Giants), Mayank Markande (traded in from Kolkata Knight Riders), and Sherfane Rutherford (traded in from Gujarat Titans).