MI Captain IPL 2026 marks a significant phase for the Mumbai Indians as Hardik Pandya steps in to guide the team with a fearless and aggressive mindset.
Following the successful era of Rohit Sharma, the spotlight is now on Pandya to bring fresh energy and tactical sharpness.
With a mix of experienced match-winners and rising stars, MI’s campaign will hinge on how effectively their new captain shapes the team’s identity this season. The five-time champions will be hunting for their sixth title in the 19th edition of the tournament.
In the previous edition, they finished in the fourth position of the IPL 2025 points table and were eliminated in the qualifier 02 of the tournament.
Meanwhile, fans are also keen to check the IPL 2026 schedule to find out when the Mumbai Indians will play their first match of the season.
MI Captain IPL 2026
In the last season, under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, the Mumbai Indians had an impressive campaign but failed to qualify for the finals after suffering a narrow defeat in the qualifiers 02 against the Punjab Kings.
Despite a star-studded team, the Mumbai Indians secured some crucial buys in the IPL 2026 auction and bolstered the MI squad for 2026 for a power-packed season.
Hardik Pandya has been retained as the captain and will be expected to make an impact as the MI captain during the IPL 2026 season.
Check out the full list of MI Captains in IPL since 2008 below:
* Currently leading the team
- Hardik Pandya – 2024-2026*
- Suryakumar Yadav: 2023
- Rohit Sharma: 2013-2023
- Ricky Ponting: 2013 (6 Matches)
- Kieron Pollard: 2014-2021 (9 Matches)
- DJ Bravo: 2010 (1 Match)
- Harbhajan Singh: 2008-2012 (30 Matches)
- Sachin Tendulkar: 2008-2011 (55 Matches)
- Shaun Pollock: 2008 (4 Matches)
Mumbai Indians Squad for IPL 2026
Check out the full IPL 2026 MI squad featuring Mumbai Indians’ updated player list and squad balance for the new campaign.
| Player | Role | Nationality |
Retained Price (INR)
|
| Suryakumar Yadav | Batter | Indian | INR 16.35 cr |
| Rohit Sharma | Batter | Indian | INR 16.30 cr |
| Tilak Varma | Batter | Indian | INR 8 cr |
| Ryan Rickelton | Wk-Batter | South African | INR 1 cr |
| Robin Minz | Wk-Batter | Indian | INR 0.65 cr |
| Hardik Pandya (C) | All‑rounder | Indian | INR 16.35 cr |
| Deepak Chahar | Bowling All-rounder | Indian | INR 9.25 cr |
| Will Jacks | All‑rounder | English | INR 5.25 cr |
| Mitchell Santner | All‑rounder | New Zealander | INR 2 cr |
| Naman Dhir | All‑rounder | Indian | INR 5.25 cr |
| Raj Angad Bawa | All‑rounder | Indian | INR 0.30 cr |
| Corbin Bosch | All‑rounder | South African | INR 0.30 cr |
| Sherfane Rutherford | All‑rounder | West Indian | INR 2.60 cr |
| Shardul Thakur | Bowling All-rounder | Indian | INR 2 cr |
| Mayank Markande | Bowler | Indian | INR 0.30 cr |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Bowler | Indian | INR 18 cr |
| Trent Boult | Bowler | New Zealander | INR 12.5 cr |
| Allah Ghazanfar | Bowler | Afghan | INR 4.80 cr |
| Ashwani Kumar | Bowler | Indian | INR 0.30 cr |
| Raghu Sharma | Bowler | Indian | INR 0.30 cr |
| Quinton de Kock | Wk-Batter | South Africa | INR 1 Cr |
| Danish Malewar | Batter | India | INR 30 Lakhs |
| Mohammad Izhar | Bowler | India | INR 30 Lakhs |
| Atharva Ankolekar | All-rounder | India | INR 30 Lakhs |
| Mayank Rawat | All-rounder | India | INR 30 Lakhs |
IPL 2026 Tournament Overview
As per the IPL 2026 schedule, the first match will be played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad on 28 March 2026 in M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
The 19th edition of the Indian Premier League is set to be played between March 28 and May 31, 2026, in India. IPL teams will be categorised into two groups of five teams, where a total of 80 group matches will be played before the playoff round.
The IPL 2026 will follow a Group stage and Playoffs format, with the top four teams in the IPL 2026 points table advancing to the playoffs round.
Right before the tournament, as expected, the IPL 2026 withdrawal players list starts to fill, while the respective team will name the replacement players for the IPL 2026 season.
As a part of the season, BCCI has released the IPL 2026 squad, IPL 2026 live streaming, IPL 2026 ticket booking links, and IPL 2026 team jersey details right before the start of the tournament.
