Defending champions Mumbai Indians’ commitment to continuity was reinforced at the TATA WPL 2026 Auction as they retained almost their entire core while making targeted additions rather than sweeping changes. Mumbai kept a near-unchanged squad and the depth and balance in the team positions them strongly for another title challenge when the tournament gets underway from January 9.
Former India player and legend Mithali Raj, speaking on JioHotstar, said Mumbai Indians have brought in quality seamers which strengthens their bowling department. ” Mumbai Indians have done well in their bowling department. They have brought in top-quality seamers like Nikola Carey and Milly Illingworth. Their other main players may not have a direct replacement. But as we witnessed in the last three seasons, their main players have not missed any matches. Maybe they were rested when the team was in a good position, but they have not missed games due to injury. Hopefully, the next seasons will be the same for MI,” the Hyderabadi said.
Another former India player Aakash Chopra said Mumbai Indians’ policy is ‘why fix what is not broken?’ and that is paying rich dividends for the team. “The Mumbai Indians have kept almost everything the same. Only one keeper has changed. They played with Yastika Bhatia for three years. Now Gunalan Kamalini or someone else will come in her place. That is the only thing to look at. The rest is pretty much the same. They are still following their philosophy, even after the big auction. Why fix what is not broken? And if something is broken, then we will fix it again. They follow that philosophy and ideology, and it is right in front of us,” he said.
MI’s Retention Strategy Fabulous
Chopra said said Mumbai Indians’ retention strategy was a big hit and added that the franchisee proved that ‘nothing is impossible’. “It is very difficult to keep the same squad after a mega auction. After a big auction, you cannot always keep your main players. Winning makes the next auction the most difficult, because you do not want to change anything, but change is almost mandatory. Despite that, if you can keep your eleven players from last year, or your core, and no main player is missing, that is a huge achievement. It is almost impossible. But the Mumbai Indians have proved nothing is impossible. Their squad is exactly like last year, with only small changes. MI are certainly moving in the right direction to win their third WPL title,” he added.
Another India player Saba Karim outlined the priorities that guided Mumbai Indians’ strategy at the auction. “The focus of Mumbai Indians was to get Amelia Kerr and Shabnim Ismail. Both are proven match-winners. Once they got those two, they could buy some uncapped talent and players who were already part of MI. That is what MI is all about. They create an environment that gives assurance to the players, and in the end, those players perform to the best of their abilities,” he stated.
