Mumbai Indians: New cycle, old ambitions for two-time champions

Where they finished in WPL 2025: Mumbai Indians ended the inaugural WPL cycle as two-time champions, lifting the trophy again at the Brabourne Stadium. They finished second on the points table, losing both round-robin fixtures to Delhi Capitals. In the knockouts, MI beat Gujarat Giants in a one-sided Eliminator and then defended 149 at the CCI to confine DC to a third straight runners-up finish.

Mega-auction overhaul: Continuity has been central to their success. MI spent over half their purse to re-sign allrounder Amelia Kerr for INR 3 crore and secured a bargain deal for Shabnim Ismail at INR 60 lakh. They also retained Saika Ishaque, S Sajana, and Sanskriti Gupta. New signings include Australian allrounder Nicola Carey, quick Milly Illingworth, leg-spinning allrounder Poonam Khemnar, and teenager Triveni Vasistha.

Newsmaker(s): MI made headlines with changes in the backroom staff. Two-time title-winning head coach Charlotte Edwards departed for the England Women's side. Australian Lisa Keightley, formerly Delhi Capitals' assistant coach, takes charge this season. Former Australian legspinner Kristen Beams joins as spin-bowling coach.

Watch out for: G Kamilini, an U-19 World Cup winner and hard-hitting batter, debuted for MI last season as a lower-order hitter. The southpaw has since made her India debut. Retained ahead of Yastika Bhatia, she is set to shoulder greater responsibility this edition at the top of the order and behind the stumps.

Strongest XI: Hayley Matthews, G Kamilini (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Amelia Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, S Sajana, Poonam Khemnar, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Triveni Vasistha

Bench: Nicola Carey, Nalla Reddy, Saika Ishaque, Rahila Firdous, Milly Illingworth

Schedule: The defending champions play five home games at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, followed by fixtures in Vadodara.

• January 9: vs RCB at 7:30 PM in Navi Mumbai
• January 10: vs DC at 7:30 PM in Navi Mumbai
• January 13: vs GG at 7:30 PM in Navi Mumbai
• January 15: vs UPW at 7:30 PM in Navi Mumbai
• January 17: vs UPW at 3:30 PM in Navi Mumbai
• January 20: vs DC at 7:30 PM in Vadodara
• January 26: vs RCB at 7:30 PM in Vadodara
• January 30: vs GG at 7:30 PM in Vadodara