Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra said the Mumbai Indians will enter IPL 2026 with a potent squad. Chopra said Hardik Pandya’s team is a strong unit and they were able to further strengthen their squad in IPL 2026 mini auction.
MI traded in Sherfane Rutherford (from GT), Shardul Thakur (LSG) and Mayank Markande (KKR). Moreover, they were able to rope in the services of Quinton de Kock, Danish Malewar, Mohammad Izhar, Atharva Ankolekar, and Mayank Rawat.
“Qualifying for the playoffs 11 times, playing the final six times, and lifting the trophy five times, if you can do all those jobs, you will become the Mumbai Indians, and if you see the team this year as well, the opposing teams get goosebumps because they have a cheat code. It seems like it’s a team of Avengers. Everyone has a superpower,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra added that MI got a steal deal when they acquired the services of Quinton de Kock at his base price of INR 1 crore.
“This team was already strong. There is no doubt about that, and they have made it stronger. They did it in the trade window itself, and then in the auction, this team has something because they can’t do it on their own, the others also need to bid. God only knows what they do because they got Quinton de Kock for just ₹1 crore,” he observed.
“They got Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande and Shardul Thakur in the trade. It means they made a complete team more complete. They have activated the beast mode. The batting depth is insane. They have a plethora of options, so much so that you would feel someone should be played, but you won’t be able to play them. I am talking about overseas players,” Chopra elaborated.
Chopra hailed Jasprit Bumrah and said he can convert a 20-over game into a 16-over match with his excellence.
“You can play either Trent Boult or Corbin Bosch. After that, they have Jasprit Bumrah, which means they have a bowler who can convert a 20-over match into a 16-over one. They have two swing bowlers in Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar,” he said.
Chopra noted that MI also has a lot of variety in their spin attack for IPL 2026.
“They have the option of Shardul Thakur, then a mystery spinner in Allah Ghazanfar, an incredibly wily left-arm spinner in Mitchell Santner, and another bowler in the form of Mayank Markande. I see only strengths. I am not seeing any weakness in this team,” Chopra observed.
Mumbai Indians will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on 29th March.
