IPL 2026: Predicting MI strongest playing XI

The Mumbai Indians didn’t have much to do in the IPL 2026 mini auction in Abu Dhabi on December 16. They didn’t have much money in their kitty, as they had already spent a few on trades. They traded in Shardul Thakur from LSG and also brought in Sherfane Rutherford and Mayank Markande.

Despite not having much money to spare, MI got extremely lucky by buying Quinton de Kock for his base price. They further bolstered their squad with Mohammad Izhar (30 L), Danish Malewar (30 L), Atharva Ankolekar (30 L), and Mayank Rawat (30 L).

Today, we’ll check out the best possible MI playing XI for the IPL 2026.

Here is the predicted MI strongest playing XI for IPL 2026:

Rohit Sharma will continue opening the innings, and this time, he’ll be reunited with Quinton de Kock, who was part of MI’s 2019 and 2020 IPL wins. Will Jacks, on the other hand, offers a more aggressive approach that can be tailored to the match conditions and opposition.

Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Varma will form a formidable middle order for the Mumbai Indians. MI had traded Sherfane Rutherford from Gujarat Titans, and he’ll bolster the finishing duties of the MI team, along with Mitchell Santner and Shardul Thakur.

The bowling unit of MI will be bolstered by Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, with Mayank Markande being their premier spinner. Santner and Hardik Pandya will provide the much-needed assistance with the ball to the five-time champions.

Coming to the impact players, the Mumbai Indians have a plethora to choose from. They have the likes of Deepak Chahar, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Naman Dhir, and Ryan Rickelton to choose from according to the situations.

Predicting MI strongest playing XI of IPL 2026:

Quinton de Kock (WK), Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (C), Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Mayank Markande, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult.

Impact Players: Deepak Chahar, Corbin Bosch, Will Jacks, Naman Dhir.

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