They had retained five players for INR 75 crore ahead of IPL 2025 auction.
Former five-time champions Mumbai Indians have been going through their worst phase in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They have gone five straight years without winning a title, their longest streak in 17 years of the league. They will head into the IPL 2026 auction with several questions to deal with.
Mumbai Indians had retained their core of five Indian stars ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. They managed to build a decent squad around it and even reached Qualifier 2. But they had some big holes which they would like to plug in the upcoming mini auction.
Ahead of the 2025 mega auction, one of the biggest talking points was how the Mumbai Indians would manage their retentions. With four superstars of Indian cricket in the squad, retaining them all while giving them satisfying price tags was a tough task.
The MI management pulled it off, giving Jasprit Bumrah the top spot with INR 18 crore. Captain Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav were given the second and third slots with an identical price of INR 16.35 crore. Rohit Sharma took the fourth spot with INR 16.30 crore, while Tilak Varma was the final retention for INR 8 crore.
They spent 75 out of 120 crore allowed purse on five players. In the mega auction, they brought Trent Boult for INR 12.50 crore and Deepak Chahar for INR 9.25 crore. Retaining all these big signings would mean the Mumbai Indians will enter the IPL 2026 auction in a compromised position. They would not have enough purse left to fight for quality talent in the auction.
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If Mumbai Indians wish to go into the upcoming mini auction with some purse, they will need to release a couple of their big signings.
Chahar is the most obvious candidate to be released, considering his age, form, and fitness concerns in the last two years. But releasing him along with a few other fringe players will not be enough. It would give them around INR 11 crore.
Trent Boult was their highest wicket-taker in the previous edition, while Suryakumar was the top run-getter. Rohit had one of his better seasons, while Bumrah is Bumrah. Tilak Varma had a disappointing campaign, but he has age on his side. Not to mention, he has elevated his aura with the Asia Cup final knock.
Mumbai Indians might add Will Jacks to the released list and increase their purse by INR 5.25 crore. Knowing how MI have always believed in sticking with their own, like One Family as their motto says, it seems unlikely that they will sacrifice one of their big stars.
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