Top News

Mumbai Indians (MI) will start their campaign in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) i.e. IPL 2026 on March 29. His first match is against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Five-time champions MI had reached Qualifier 2 last season. The team captained by Hardik Pandya will be eyeing the sixth title this time. MI last won the title in the 2021 season.

MI was struggling with the lack of spinners last season. This season he will get the facilities of AM Ghazanfar, who did not play in IPL 2025 due to injury. MI’s spin department had struggled in the absence of this Afghan star. His presence will strengthen the team. The team management will also have to take a big decision for the wicketkeeper and opening slot.

Who will be Rohit Sharma’s partner?

Ryan Rickleton opened with Rohit Sharma in IPL 2025. He also took up the responsibility of wicketkeeping. He had scored 388 runs in 14 matches. During this period his strike rate was above 150. Rickleton recently scored 228 runs at a strike rate of 170.14 in the T20 World Cup 2026. This time too he can be seen opening with Rohit but he will face challenge from compatriot Quinton de Kock.

De Kock played a key role in MI winning back to back titles in 2020 and 2021. He had scored more than 500 runs in the 2020 season. De Kock’s recent form is also tremendous. He scored 181 runs at a strike rate of 135 in the T20 World Cup. Just a few days before this, De Kock had played a explosive inning of 106 runs against India in Visakhapatnam ODI.

Looking at the form of Rickleton-De Kock, both can be played but only one will be able to make a place in MI’s playing XI, because for the team combination, it is necessary to play foreign players like Will Jacques, AM Ghazanfar and Trent Boult. MI also has the option of wicketkeeper in the form of Robin Minz but there is little hope that he will be played. In such a situation, it is interesting to see who Hardik Pandya and head coach Mahela Jayawardene choose between De Kock and Rickleton.

Full squad of Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (captain), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Will Jacques, Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickleton, Shardul Thakur, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwini Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Mayank Markandey, Naman Dheer, Raghu Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Robin Minz, Sherfane. Rutherford, Danish Malewar, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Rawat, Mohammad Izhar