IPL 2026 | MI's qualification hangs by a thread: What went wrong for the star-studded team?

Mumbai Indians entered the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction with just Rs 2 crore and looked like a settled unit. They then acquired the services of South African veteran Quinton de Kock to strengthen the already fearsome squad.

At the start of the tournament most experts and pundits had MI as their number one team to make it into the top four and possibly top two. Such predictions and opinions were not a surprise.

On paper, the Nita Ambani-owned franchise had experienced Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, skipper Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma and Jasprit Bumrah, while also boasting of top overseas athletes, including Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner and newly signed de Kock.

The structure of the team resembled the 2020 squad and majority of the players were a part of the dominating team which became only the second to defend their IPL title.

Yet, the five-time champions are all but knocked out of the tournament with about a third of league stage matches still pending.

The star-studded team has two wins in nine matches and winning each of the five matches will only give them a maximum of 14 points, which in most seasons is not enough. Currently, they are ninth on the points table.

They have also fielded 22 of the 25 available players, indicating that the squad is far from settled in terms of combinations and tactics.

So what went wrong?

This is not the first time that MI is struggling after having tasted repeated success in the previous decade. In the 2020s, MI has the most number of defeats at 53 and have qualified for the playoffs only twice in the last five years and finished at the bottom of the table as many times.

And yet, there is no real explanation for the sudden dip of a franchise that lifted five titles between 2013 and 2020.

When MI finished last on the points table in 2024, the blame was pinned on the rough leadership transition from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya.

However, even after three years, the team looks a show of themselves under Pandya, who had incidentally led Gujarat Titans to the championship in the very first year of the franchise in 2022 and missed back-to-back success by a whisker in 2023.

After a slow start last year, a late surge meant that MI sneaked through to the playoffs and played the Qualifier 2. Most thought that the resurgence of a powerful team was on cards this year. But it was not to be.

The blame cannot be pinpointed this season.

Key players out of form

With one of the strongest teams on paper that has all bases covered, MI would consider itself unlucky with the form of some of their key stars.

Yadav, who was the Player of the Tournament last season and fresh after leading India to a T20 World Cup win, has averaged just 20 in the nine matches so far. He has a solitary half-century. The Indian captain has been a key part of the MI middle order for years and his concerning form has affected the batting unit.

Skipper Pandya has not inspired much confidence either, scoring less than 150 runs in the eight matches at a dismal strike rate of 136. With the ball too, he has picked up only four wickets.

New Zealand pace spearhead Boult, who is known to be a new ball specialist, has zero wickets with the new ball and has just two wickets across five outings. He has also leaked runs at over 11 runs per six balls.

However, one of the gravest concern is the form of Bumrah, who averages 94 with the ball and has only three wickets in nine matches.

Often called the "world's best", the pacer has close to 200 wickets in IPL and has been a threat for the opposition since he made his debut in 2013. Him being negotiated means that MI have become the worst team statistically with the ball in the already derailed season.

Injury concerns

To add to the woes, former captain Rohit Sharma has been sidelined ever since he pulled his hamstring while batting against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. This has led to "musical chairs" up the order, with several players being tried without much success.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has also been ruled out of the tournament, pegging a hole in the spin and lower order department. Furthermore, de Kock, who smashed a century on his return to the playing 11, also sustained a wrist injury.

Can MI still qualify for the playoffs?

In 2019 the team finishing with 12 points qualified for the playoff. However, this season, three teams-- Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals-- are already on 12 points, while Punjab Kings lead with 13.

Only way for MI to qualify from here is to win all matches and hope for several other results to go their way and a team to stop at 14. Their Net Run Rate is also in tatters at -0.803, meaning they also have to win big.