The five-time champions, who were once one of the most consistent teams of the IPL, have been trophyless for the last five years. They won their last trophy in 2020 under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. After that, a lot has changed: two new teams came, the impact player rule came, and most importantly, Hardik Pandya took the captaincy role of the legacy franchise. It has to be said that they have taken time to build a new core and adapt to the new IPL modification. Mumbai’s batting was never a problem. In the transition phase, the replacement player did not really work; the spin and all-rounder area had hurt them most. The vacancy of Pollard and Harbhajan Singh cost them a lot, but before the 2026 auction, they summed up and included new players who can play a defined role for them via trade. In the 2026 auction, they were the team that did almost nothing. With a strong base and a new look, is MI ready to revamp this year? Let's take a close look.
Strength- A strong, successful core
MI remained able to gather their champion team core and also added an extra bit of spice to that. They had Rohit, Bumrah, SKY and Hardik to add a cherry on top; they have now included Quinton De Kock. With the successful opening combination now back, Rohit is coming with more fitness; it is going to be an eye-catching partnership. Also, they have added Mayank Markande, the new spinner who announced his debut with strong performances, to add more power in spin and also to help with the bat.
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Santner and Will Jacks are there. With a very strong Indian core and successful international players, Mumbai will take the field as one of the toughest teams.
Weakness- Too many heads, too many options
With already having Rohit and Hardik as captains of the team, this team has so many international team captains, not to forget the recent World Cup-winning captain Surya Kumar Yadav, who is also there.
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Bumrah also has international captaincy experience, and New Zealand white-ball captain Mitchel Santner is also there. If all of them can not come up as a group with their leadership abilities, despite having so much potential, this team will have trouble finding the right direction and balance.
