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 in front of a near-capacity home crowd at the Brabourne Stadium. They finished second on the points table, losing both their round-robin fixtures to Delhi Capitals. However in the knockouts, MI beat Gujarat Giants in a one-sided Eliminator and then defended a paltry 149 at the high-scoring CCI to confine DC to their third straight runners-up finish.

Mega-auction overhaul: It didn't feel like one. Continuity has been central to their success and MI were able to reassemble the core that won them their second title. They spent over half of their modest purse available to sign back allrounder Amelia Kerr for INR 3 crore and got an absolute bargain of a deal with Shabnim Ismail at INR 60 lakh after minimal resistance from RCB.

That was followed by the returns of Saika Ishaque, S Sajana and Sanskriti Gupta who are all capped at the franchise. Additionally, MI roped in Australian allrounder Nicola Carey and up-and-coming quick Milly Illingworth. Notable new domestic recruits include leg-spinning allrounder Poonam Khemnar and teenaged Triveni Vasistha.

Newsmaker(s): While they're settled on the squad front, MI made headlines with changes in the backroom staff. The departure of their two-time title-winning head coach Charlotte Edwards, who took on the same role with the England Women's side, was the biggest of them all. Australian Lisa Keightley, the Delhi Capitals' assistant coach in the last WPL cycle, takes charge this season onwards. Former Australian legspinner Kristen Beams also joins the franchise as their spin-bowling coach.

Watch out for:An U-19 World Cup winner and a hard-hitting batter, G Kamilini debuted for the franchise as a lower-order hitter last season and did win them a tight game without tallying a lot of runs. The southpaw has since gone on to make her India debut in a T20 World Cup year. A like-for-like replacement, she was retained ahead of the franchise's three-season opener Yastika Bhatia, and is set to shoulder greater responsbility this edition not just as at the top of the order but also behind the stumps.

Strongest XI: Hayley Mattews, 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: They clinched their trophy at the CCI both times, but the Mumbai ground isn't a venue this edition. The defending champions have the advantage of playing five games in front of their home crowd still, at the DY Patil in Navi Mumbai, but it comes at the cost of back-to-back fixtures upfront and an afternoon game before they travel to Vadodara for the second-half of the season.

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 at 7:30 PM in Vadodara