Decoding MI's IPL 2026 strategy: Prime targets for five-time champions in mini-auction

With only INR 2.75 cr left, Mumbai Indians aim to fill five slots in the mini-auction.

Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians walk into the 2026 mini-auction with the kind of problem that keeps the recruitment teams awake - a heavyweight core, but only INR 2.75 cr left to spend and five slots to fill, including an overseas.

Auqib Nabi in India domestic arena.(@itis_vishwa/x.com)

They have already locked up 20 players, effectively betting on continuity around the Hardik Pandya-Jasprit Bumrah-Suryakumar Yadav-Rohit Sharma axis, with support acts like Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, and Corbin Bosch proving their worth over the last cycle. The mini-auction isn’t about a splash, it's about plugging specific gaps.

MI’s locked and stable core

MI’s retained list for the 2025 mega auction already skewed heavily towards top-end talent: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Bumrah, SKY and Tilak gave them leadership, pace, and batting depth in one go. Since then, smart buys like Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult’s second stint, and value overseas options such as Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton, Mitchell Santner and Bosh have rounded the squad.

But that same strategy - paying full price for proven match-winners - is why the franchise now has just INR 2.75 cr left and up to five vacancies to manage.

That means no fantasy shopping this time. Every name they go after has to either be:

1. A low to mid-range Indian pick who can plug one of the apparent gaps
2. A single calculated punt on an overseas player if the market permits

What MI still need from this auction

Squad balance actually suggests three things:

1. Spin depth and domestic control: On Indian tracks, Hardik plus Santner doesn’t feel enough across 14-17 games. MI need one more Indian spinner who can bowl in the middle overs and offer match-up flexibility.

2. Backup keeper-opener: With Rickelton at the top and Rohit in the final stretch of his career, MI cannot afford to be one injury away from rejigging their entire top order. A backup keeper who can bat in the top three is a strategic must.

3. A budget pace option: Bumrah remains the attack’s heartbeat, but MI like having multiple quicks. With the purse so tight, this probably won’t be a marquee name, more likely a domestic seamer with strong T20 numbers.

Within these constraints, three names stand out as realistic prime targets from the registered players list for the mini-auction.

3 Realistic targets for MI

1. Vignesh Puthur

Kerala spinner, Vignesh Puthur, is the most logical, emotionally loaded and financially realistic target. Reports from the south suggest MI are already considering him back, after he impressed in his first season in 2025.

As a domestic spinner with proven temperament and familiarity with MI’s environment, Vignesh ticks three crucial boxes:

• Fits a middle-overs control role
• Comes at a price that won’t wreck an INR 2.75 cr purse
• And offers continuity with upside rather than a complete gamble

If MI sign only one spinner in this auction, it’s hard to argue for anyone more logical in their budget band.

2. Auqib Dar Nabi

Jammu and Kashmir quick, Auqib Nabi is the sort of profile Mumbai’s scouting system has always loved: not yet a big name, but a proven domestic performer with the ability to be versatile with the ball.

For a franchise that has historically maximised the undervalued Indian seamers, Nabi is almost a template pick. With senior quicks ageing and Jasprit Bumrah’s workload always a management concern, MI need an Indian pacer who can bowl the overs without demanding a premium price. Nabi offers:

• Pace and a heavy ball that can work at the Wankhede as well as on truer away surfaces
• The flexibility to operate in the power play or at the back end
• And, crucially, a realistic chance of being signed within a sub INR 1 crore bracket

In a squeezed purse, that combination is gold. He strengthens the net sessions immediately and can slot into the XI whenever conditions demand an extra Indian quick.

3. One high-risk, high-reward keeper

The most intriguing upside play left on the table for Mumbai is Jonny Bairstow. If they are getting him at his base price or at around INR 1.5 cr, he could be a good option for the MI to have.

On his day, Bairstow can front-load an innings in a way few others can, allowing Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma to control the middle overs rather than salvage them.

If they don’t get Bairstow, they can go for another name at a lesser price point.

In short, Mumbai’s mini-auction is not about rewriting their identity; it’s about protecting a title-contending core with smart, floor-raising buys.

A domestic spin re-acquisition like Putuhur, a value Indian quick in Nabi, and a sharp opportunistic eye on someone like Bairstow if the market permits - that’s the kind of tight, disciplined auction Mumbai need to run if they want their five-tile core to have one more deep run left in it.