Mumbai Indians managed to stay alive in IPL 2026 on Monday but the writing was on the wall for the five-time champions as they face another season – the fourth in the past six years – without making it to the playoffs. The body language of the players and support staff reflected the long and painful summer the team had endured.For a team with just three wins from ten games, minutes of fine-tuning won’t help; an overhaul of the dressing room – which hasn’t been the warmest of places since Hardik Pandya took over as captain Rohit Sharma – need. It is understood that the management is happy to be patient after the initial turmoil following the captaincy change, but patience is not their best friend at the moment as another wooden spoon ending looms large in IPL 2026.MI benefits from BCCI’s new retention policy ahead of 2025 mega auction, which enables them to retain their ‘core’: Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma. Even though other teams have used the maximum reserved quota, MI is probably the only team that can sit at the auction table knowing that half of their players are sorted.So, what went wrong with this team that has superstars, leaders and four players who have led India?‘Team’ is the key word here, as it is understood the team is still navigating an unstable dressing room following a change of captain and has struggled to put together a united front. For a team that prides itself on winning games out of nowhere, that perfect “team performance” has been missing for several seasons. Personal talent, but not enough to add a sixth title to the cabinet.Even though the management has made it clear that Hardik will be captain for the foreseeable future, some are either clinging to captaincy ambitions or promoting younger players to take over. A senior player has dealt with an undisclosed injury for several seasons, and some are happy to take it easy even if it means missing nearly a month of cricket. Rumors that the “core” team doesn’t get along are damaging to the team environmentOn the face of it, the MI camp for IPL 2026 has no shortage of superstars and utility players, but as the think tank is still trying to finalize their ideal lineup for the tournament, they have been left tactically exposed. Persistent injuries don’t help, nor does “core” instability.Tilak is strongly considered the team’s future leader, but he has only played one 400-plus game season in five editions. His good friend Suryakumar Yadav performed well in 2025 but struggled in IPL 2026, scoring just 195 runs in 10 innings. Not firing at two key parts of the middle order didn’t help, nor did Hardik Pandya’s returns with the bat impress – 146 runs in eight innings.Rohit Sharma had a promising start to the season but was sidelined for almost a month with a hamstring injury. His inconsistencies are not new, however. The right-hander had his only 500-game season with the team in 2013.MI prides itself on retaining players for as long as possible, but with the game growing at a rapid pace, the think tank needs to do better to stay one step ahead. Confident in their methods, they attended last year’s mini-auction with tiny wallets. They seemed happy with the players they were using and backed their strategy of a power play dominated by swing and a left-arm pacer. However, reality hit them hard as the opposition batsmen got rid of the delivery of Deepak Chahal and Trent Boult with ease. Even Jasprit Bumrah’s virtuosity was lost as the world’s premier fast bowler was not supported.The next big auction is a chance for the team to correct the mistakes made at the auction table, but the priority is to get the house in order and restore normalcy to the dressing room. Beneficial changes are needed and it is time for the management to issue a stern call to players whose personal interests and ambitions do not contribute to the cause of the team.
