Mumbai Indians, five-time IPL champions, approached the 2026 mini-auction with a modest budget of RS 2.75 crore, the lowest among all franchises. In a clever move, they brought back former wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock for just RS 1 crore.
De Kock will act as a dependable backup to Ryan Rickelton, who impressed during his debut IPL season in 2025. Ahead of the auction, MI had released uncapped player Krishnan Shrijith, who could have filled a similar role but did not get a chance on the field. With de Kock’s addition, Mumbai Indians have further strengthened their squad for the upcoming season.
Quinton de Kock had three stints with Mumbai Indians from 2019 to 2021, scoring 529 runs in his first season, 503 in the second, and 297 in his final campaign with the team.
The wicketkeeper-batter was released by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Across six franchises in his IPL career, de Kock has featured in 115 matches, racking up 3,309 runs at an average of 30.63 and maintaining a strike rate of 134.02.
Complete List of Players Acquired in IPL 2026 Auction: Quinton de Kock (Rs 1 crore), Mohammad Izhar (Rs 30 lakh)
Present squad and retained members: Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Allah Ghafanzar, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Will Jacks, Raghu Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa. Tilak Varma, Ryan Rickleton, Robin Minz, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Naman Dhir, Traded in: Shardul Thakur (from LSG), Sherfane Rutherford (from GT), Mayank Markande (from KKR).
Players released: Karn Sharma, Arjun Tendulkar (traded to LSG), Bevon Jacobs, Satyanarayana Raju, Reece Topley, KL Shrijith, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Vignesh Puthur, and Lizaad Williams.