Goa, May 25 -- Few teams entered IPL 2026 with bigger expectations than Mumbai Indians. With stars like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya in the squad, many expected Mumbai to challenge for the title once again.

Instead, the five-time champions suffered one of their worst seasons in recent years.

Mumbai finished ninth on the points table with only four wins from 14 matches. The campaign never truly took off after a promising opening victory over Kolkata Knight Riders. MI then lost seven of their next eight matches and spent most of the season near the bottom of the table.

The biggest disappointment was how disconnected the side looked throughout the tournament. The batting lacked consistency, the bowling ...