Irfan Pathan picks Mumbai Indians playing 11 for IPL 2026; chooses Indian superstar as Impact Player

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) have all bases covered even before entering the IPL 2026 auction. Yet, Pathan backed the franchise to pull a rabbit out of the hat and unearth some new talent next season.

MI is without nine predominantly reserve players from the 2025 squad after the retention and trading deadline, leaving them with ₹2.75 crore for the upcoming auction.

Pathan's potential MI playing 11 for IPL 2026 is as follows:

Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickleton, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Sherfane Rutherford (acquired through trade), Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur (acquired through trade), Mitchell Santner/Corbin Bosch, Mayank Markande, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah (Impact Sub)

"They are in the same situation as RCB. Their team seems settled and every base is covered. You might wonder what they can do with such a small purse. But they always pull a rabbit out of the hat. It's magic. So they'll find a player who'll surprise everyone," said Pathan on his YouTube channel (16:48).

Despite boasting a strong side on paper, MI have failed to win an IPL title since 2020. The side was eliminated by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2 this year.

Irfan Pathan picks GT's playing XI for IPL 2026

Irfan Pathan believes the Gujarat Titans (GT) squad is all but settled for IPL 2026 even before next month's auction. Yet, the former all-rounder urged the franchise to focus on acquiring a finisher in the lower middle-order.

Pathan also believes GT must bat the in-form Washington Sundar higher up the batting order next year.

"They need a good finisher. Since MI have acquired Rutherford, they need another batter to work with Shahrukh and Tewatia. Otherwise there could be problems. But that apart, the team seems settled. They've good experience in their fast-bowling with Siraj, Prasidh and Ishant Sharma," said Pathan (via the aforementioned source).

He concluded:

"This year they'll try to use Sundar's batting as much as possible. He can bat higher up the order at either 4 or 5."

GT qualified for the playoffs in IPL 2025 but were ousted by MI in the eliminator.

Meanwhile, Irfan Pathan shared his preferred GT playing XI for next season as follows:

Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Rashid Khan, Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran