Rohit Sharma joins MI squad ahead of 2026 IPL season
Sharma won six IPL titles, one with the Deccan Chargers and five as captain of the Mumbai-based team, making him the most successful captain in the tournament’s history.
The veteran opener joined Mumbai in 2011 and became the captain in 2013. Sharma then led MI to their first IPL title in his first season as captain and led MI for 11 years before being replaced by star all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the 2024 season.
Rohit is also MI’s top run-scorer and one of the four batsmen with more than 6000 runs in the IPL.
Also Read: Mumbai Indians begin IPL 2026 pre-season training
Sharma’s best IPL season with the bat was 2013, when he scored 538 runs in MI’s title bid.
In 2015, Rohit became the Player of the Final as Mumbai won their second IPL title by beating Chennai Super Kings. MI went on to win the IPL in 2017, 2019 and 2020 under Rohit’s leadership. MI officially started pre-season training on Monday, marking the first session of the upcoming 2026 season.
According to the statement, head coach Mahela Jayawardene led the session on the field, attended by bowling coaches Paras Mhambrey and Lasith Malinga, fielding coach Carl Hopkinson and all strength, conditioning and physiotherapy support teams.
Mumbai Indians Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene said: “There’s always something special about the first day of pre-season. You see the players coming in, the energy is up and the aim is to start strong. We’ve got kids who know this team very well and we’ve got some exciting new faces coming through.”
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“Day one sets the tone for the whole campaign. We wanted everyone to feel the intent from the first session on how we train, how we prepare and how we treat each other. The first session is always exciting but it’s also the start of something serious and we know what we’re heading towards,” added Jayawardene.
While pre-tournament preparations are intensifying, the rest of the team is expected to attend the camp in the coming days.
Mumbai Indians’ squad for IPL 2026 season:
Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ryan Rickleton, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Naman Dhir, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Allah Ghafanzar, AshwKumar, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande, Shardul Thakur, Quinton de Kock, Denmark Malewar, Mohammad Izhar, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Rawat.
