Mumbai Indians are working on their squad for IPL 2026. The five-time champions want to fix their spin bowling weakness. MI has brought back Shardul Thakur and is now chasing two more former spinners.
Mumbai Indians Retained and Released Players List
| Retained Players | Released Players |
| Rohit Sharma Hardik Pandya Jasprit Bumrah Suryakumar Yadav Tilak Varma Trent Boult Mitchell Santner Shardul Thakur Sherfane Rutherford Mayank Markande Will Jacks Robin Minz Naman Dhir Allah Ghazanfar Ryan Rickelton Ashwani Kumar | Reece Topley Krishnan Shrijith Satyanarayana Raju Bevon Jacobs Arjun Tendulkar Lizaad Williams Raj Bawa Karn Sharma Vignesh Puthur |
Remaining Purse – ₹ 2.75 CR
Mumbai Indians Plans Big Trades for IPL 2026
MI wants Mayank Markande back from Kolkata Knight Riders. The team is also looking at Rahul Chahar from Sunrisers Hyderabad. These two spinners wore blue jerseys before and did well for them.
Shardul Thakur has already joined Mumbai Indians from Lucknow Super Giants. The all-rounder brings useful lower-order batting skills. Sherfane Rutherford came from Gujarat Titans too. People still talk about how Hardik Pandya came back last year. Taking captaincy from Rohit Sharma upset many MI supporters badly.
Markande cost KKR just Rs 30 lakh, but never played a match. He warmed the bench for the entire IPL 2025 season. Mumbai Indians can give him actual playing time, unlike KKR did. His leg-spin works well at Wankhede Stadium.
MI Retained and Released Players List
Rohit Sharma stays with Mumbai Indians for IPL 2026 despite losing his captain role. Hardik Pandya keeps the captaincy even after a terrible season last year. Jasprit Bumrah is still their main wicket-taker in crucial overs. The batting lineup retained Suryakumar Yadav handling pressure situations. Tilak Varma showed great form and earned his spot. New Zealand’s Trent Boult gives them a quality left-arm option.
MI might be released several players this time. Reece Topley from England didn’t get many chances to prove himself. Krishnan Shrijith played backup keeper but wasn’t needed much. Satyanarayana Raju couldn’t break into the playing eleven regularly. Bevon Jacobs and Arjun Tendulkar are no longer part of the squad.
What This Means for MI
Mumbai Indians finished at the bottom in IPL 2025 with just four wins. The retention strategy shows they trust their core players. Adding experienced spinners could solve their biggest problem. Markande and Chahar understand pressure situations better than young spinners. Mumbai Indians hope these trades will help them bounce back stronger.
