The five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians were finally able to move on from their disastrous season in 2024 and had a decent outing in the 18th edition of the tournament in 2025. MI were looking like a balanced side in IPL 2025 where they had star batters like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and a deadly pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar. Apart from that, skipper Hardik Pandya played as proper all-rounder excelling as both batters and a fast-bowler.
However, one department where MI will look to strengthen their lineup could be spin bowling. MI had star New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner in their lineup in IPL 2025. Apart from that, 24-year-old Vignesh Puthur also registered a couple of remarkable performances in his debut IPL season. However, MI still need a stable spin-bowling lineup ahead of IPL 2026 and find a player who could make a big impact especially in the middle-overs of the game.
Let’s have a look at three star spinner which Mumbai Indian can aim in IPL 2026 mini auction
Moeen Ali
Veteran England spinner Moeen Ali can be among the top choices for Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2026 auction. He was a part of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025 but didn’t get much chances, neither he registered any remarkable performances in the six matches he played this year. Looking at this, KKR are likely to release Moeen ahead of IPL 2026 auction. If this happens, MI will have a good chance to get him in their squad. The English cricketer carries a great experience and can be a useful addition in the MI lineup for IPL 2026. Apart from his spin bowling, Moeen Ali can also play as a handy batter in the middle-order and accelerate the innings.
Rashid Khan
Star Afghan spinner Rashid Khan had a completely off season in IPL 2025 playing for Gujarat Titans. The leg-spinner took nine wickets from 15 matches with a bowling average of 57.11. With the bat as well, Rashid could only scored 40 runs in 15 matches. Looking at his underwhelming performance in IPL 2025, there can also be chances GT releases him ahead of IPL 2026 auction. If that happens, MI can be the first franchise to bid for him in the auction or can also add him in the squads via trade deal with GT. Rashid is also a part of MI’s sister franchises in other league such as MI Cape Town in South Africa T20, MI New York in Major League Cricket and MI Emirates in the International League T20. Rashid already has a connection with MI and it won’t be a shock if they bid for him in the IPL 2026 mini-auction.
Rahul Chahar
Mumbai Indians will be looking to add Rahul Chahar back in their squad for the next IPL season in 2026. The leg-spinner was a part of MI from 2019 to 2021 and took 41 wickets from 39 matches in three seasons. After that, he joined Punjab Kings from 2022 to 2024, followed by SRH in IPL 2025. However, he didn’t get much chances for SRH as he could only play one game in the entire season. Now, SRH are likely to release him ahead of IPL 2026 auction and MI can be among the first teams to bid for him for the upcoming season.
