IPL 2026 Mumbai Indians (MI) Best Retained Squad Players List

20 names in contention in our best retained squad and players list for Mumbai Indians (MI) for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. 

2020 was the last time Mumbai Indians won an IPL trophy. Six years on, and the team is still searching for their sixth trophy to become the most successful franchise in the history of the Indian Premier League. Currently, MI and CSK are joint-successful teams with 5 trophies each to their name. Both teams have a DNA of retaining as much core as possible by giving their players a longer rope, and the same should continue for 2026 as well. 

The IPL 2025 saw Mumbai Indians ending in the Playoffs, and losing the Qualifier 2 by a whisker. This shows the team is well-balanced, and has appropriate match-winners with them. With a mindset of retaining most of the core, how will the team cope with upcoming retentions given the team won’t find any restrictions on retaining a certain number of players? Well, it will be interesting to see how MI go about it, but let’s in this article try to decode.

If we observe the IPL 2025 squad of Mumbai Indians, the team felt properly balanced from all angles. However, the team lacked firepower in the Overseas players department. This is an area where the team would like to focus on, and that means they may let go of a few redundant Overseas players to find fresh ones in the upcoming Auction. But which Overseas players are MI likely to release for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026?

IPL 2026 Mumbai Indians Best Retained Squad Players List

Well, if we observe the Overseas contingent, the team should retain the likes of Trent Boult, Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner and Corbin Bosch. With 5 names as sure-short retentions, the team will also contemplate retaining Bevon Jacobs and Allah Ghazanfar. This means MI will look to retain 7 of their existing 8 Overseas players. So, the ones that MI are likely to leave out are Lizaad Williams and Reece Topley. The team also cannot retain Jonny Bairstow as he came in as a temporary replacement.

Having seen how MI may go about Overseas players, the team will retain most of their Indian contingent. Along with the regular players like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Deepak Chahar, and Naman Dhir, the team will look to retain the young guns like Robin Minz, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, and Vignesh Puthur. So, in all, there shouldn’t be much debate on these 11 players. Aside from these 18 players, the MI will continue to invest in players like Arjun Tendulkar and Karn Sharma.

IPL 2026 Best Released Players List for Mumbai Indians (MI)

1. Mujeeb ur Rahman (o)
2. Lizaad Williams (o)
3. Satyanayarana Raju
4. Reece Topley (o)
5. Raghu Sharma
6. Shrijith Krishnan (wk)

With Mumbai Indians set to retain almost 20 players, the team will leave out the likes of Satyanarayana Raju, Raghu Sharma, and Shrijith Krishnan, whom MI didn’t utilize, or who weren’t so good in the opportunities. Overall, as you can see, the Mumbai Indians team is one of the few teams that doesn’t like to chop and change much. With the team expected to retain almost 20 players, the only thing they will do in the Auction is to fill the minor gaps. 

IPL 2026 Best Retained Squad and Players List for Mumbai Indians (MI)

Batters: Bevon Jacobs (o), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav & Tilak Varma

Wicket-keepers: Robin Minz & Ryan Rickelton (o)

All-rounders: Arjun Tendulkar, Corbin Bosch (o), Hardik Pandya (c), Mitchell Santner (o), Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa & Will Jacks (o)

Bowlers: Allah Ghazanfar (o), Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma, Trent Boult (o) & Vignesh Puthur

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